Chicken Hawk?

Yesterday afternoon I went out to check on the animals water and make sure all was well. Well, there was not a soul in the chicken yard. Every chicken and rabbit was inside the house. It is such an unnerving site and sound (or lack thereof). In the middle of the yard there were a few feathers, nice tail feathers. My heart sank a little. Another chicken gone. Well, when I get inside the gate, the chickens come out slowly one by one and get back to chasing bugs and eating cracked corn. All but one rooster came out. After some coaxing he stepped out into the sunlight. Poor guy, he had a hole where some of his tail feathers used to be. At least he survived, he was one of the largest birds. Greedy hawk!

By the time I had gotten everyone fed, watered and checked on there were three more chickens on top of the blue barrel that holds their food. Apparently, they are the daredevils of the group, sitting up high in the middle of the yard, just shouting to the hawks, "Look at me, look at me!"

I think we will go back, at least after butchering day in a couple of weeks, and clip everyone's wings again, both sides this time, just to be thorough.

Goat Shelter - part I

Now that the goat fence is up, it is time to work on the shelter. Obviously, I want to have this done before we breed the goat, so we have a safe place for her, her kid(s) and a place to milk. Right now she just has a tarp to protect her and her food from rain (which is nominal at this point in time), and trees for the same.

I have left the planning of this building in Bruce's hands. This must require a lot of thought and sometimes calls for some backup. A couple of hours after hearing the saws and hammering, I went out to check the progress.

Why do I get the feeling this is going to take a little longer than I had hoped?

At least I am not contemplating breeding Suzy for another month or two....

Random Thoughts #2

This has been a busy time for me with my "paying" job. I have not had much time to "smell the roses," which I promised myself I would do. I do get little moments in the day when I have to stand up, stretch and walk. It is in those moments I try to remember that this is just a job, not a life and try to remain in the present. It does get hard when the stack of bills is right in front of me...maybe I should move those off to the side.

I do enjoy watching the hummingbirds and butterflies that land on the flowers just outside my office window. I have been able to enjoy the snowy egret and the majestic Great Blue heron that have frequented the far edge of the pond. But only in passing it seems.

And the animlas. Suzy is a bit lonely without Bella, but we are working on that situation. I have had to give her some water soluable vitamins to help with the runny nose that I am sure is caused by the stress of losing her friend. The rabbits are getting used to us coming in and out of their area. The chickens, oh those chickens, always entertaining. One evening, I went out to lock them up. They were already in their houses. It was just light enough to see four rabbits around the upside down water bucket. I wondered how long it had been flipped over. It must have been a while and those poor bunnies were so thirsty to gather around the bucket. I went in and lifted it up. Out ran a chicken...poor thing, ran into the chicken house as fast as his little legs would carry him. I had to laugh. He shouldn't have been trying to be the daredevil walking along the edge of the bucket...I wonder what the rabbits were really thinking? Were they laughing too? Ah, always entertaining.

Moments like that keep life in check. That is one thing that I love about homesteading-keeps life real. I have been in the fast-paced world, working 8-5,(really, is there a 9-5 job anymore), having the money but not the time or energy to enjoy it, eating out because I was too tired to cook, buying the kids techno gadgets to keep them entertained because I was too tired to listen. That, to me, is not life. It is a shell of a life. I am so thankful for the direction my life has taken. It's hard, oh, it is hard. I have neither time nor money now, but I have so much more treasure that can't be measured.

R.I.P. ISABELLA

Today is a day of sadness. I come in from burying Bella. Yesterday evening a large limb fell onto the new goat fence, giving Bella the opportunity to hop over. Unfortunately, we don't know what happened whether it was the dogs, or if the limb actually caused an internal injury. We found her in the driveway unable to move with one large puncture wound and several smaller lacerations. We put her in a quiet area, did what we could for her wounds and checked on her a few times throughout the night. Each time, although breathing heavily, she would move a bit, drink some water and cry. This morning at 5 a.m., however, we found that she had not made it. It is with a heavy heart that I write this morning.

The Greenhouse and Fall Garden

It is in my hands at this point. The greenhouse. Poor, poor plants. The kids separated the dead from the 'possibly still alive' plants. Sarah and I have been watering it daily to keep it going. It is actually more of a practice thing at this point. There are houseplants and hanging baskets that I will be bringing inside, so we are keeping those going.

I started a few more vegetables for the fall garden. I am still unsure of how this southern garden works, but from what I have heard, the fall is the best garden in these parts.

I had a run in with a mouse or lizard or something wanting my cucumber and zucchini seeds. I planted extra and am keeping them domed at night.

I have planted one row of green beans and a half row of peas. Nothing yet. I am afraid it was all for naught.

I have officially transplanted zucchini and tomatoes, and traditional fall crops (broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, cabbage, etc.) into 4" pots and 6-packs.

But the garden. I am trying to figure out how to deal with the garden. It was overrun with morning glories, weeds and grass and so we mowed it all down. Now what at this point? I am considering raised beds for this time of year until winter when I can revamp it. I could be acting a little too impulsively, but I really, REALLY wanted to have something to show for this fall. So, still "considering." But I guess I am going to have to officially decide something quickly. Time isn't slowing down for me. With the extra peace and quiet time with the kids off to school, that will help my thought processes. Hmmmm???

Delegating

I have been overwhelmed with all of the things that need to be done: Finishing moving things in and out of the house, making it a home, taking care of the animals we have bought, brought and inherited, yard, garden, greenhouse, bees, cooking, cleaning (HA!), paying job, getting ready for school, so on and so forth. These are things all working parents and homesteaders understand, I am sure.

I wanted to be able to do everything, but that is really just unrealistic. ( I am a dreamy pisces, right?) All it is doing is making me tired, stressed and aging me inside and out and I am not accomplishing anything.

Well, I am going to do something different-delegate. I have chosen my top four priorities. These include cooking, keeping the house, maintaining the budget (not by my choice), and working the greenhouse/ garden. I think these meld well for me. Maintain the budget so I know how much to spend on food, household items and greenhouse supplies, cook so I know what to grow and preserve from the greenhouse and gardens and how much I can shave off the budget--you see where I am going with this? This leaves all the animals and outside work and maintenance for the rest of the family to divide up. Of course, everybody needs to know how to do everything enough to get by and everybody has to help. That's the way it is supposed to work.

I will still be helping milk the goats, make cheese, butcher the chickens, wash the eggs, work the bees and extract the honey, etc. And I will have help getting the clothes off the line, unloading the dishwasher and grocery shopping. But everyone has their own responsibilities and I have to let them have it. I can't control everything and I think that was part of the problem. I felt like I needed to. No, I don't.

A friend of mine, who in a two years time span has made a beautiful homesite that I am completely envious of, said focus on one thing at a time. She is right. Otherwise, everything gets started and everything gets left undone. That is one of my biggest concerns, the one thing that I want to change for my sanity, as well as what I can teach the kids. Without focus, I am constantly in another time-should have (past) and need to (future) or in another place (what needs the most work today). I am not living in the present and that is a large reason for this homestead, to enjoy every moment, good, bad, beautiful that life has to offer.

So, we will see how this "letting go" goes for me. To be honest, I feel lighter in mind and spirit already. Ahhh!

Canning Season

We did get a few tomatoes canned this season so far, but not what we had anticipated. With our being busy this summer, the lack of rain and the horrible heat, it has not been good for garden production. There is also the fact that I am still trying to learn about gardening in the South versus Midwest.

While mom was here we did have an assembly line going enough to get a few jars on our shelf.

It was wonderful to have both Jake and Sarah help in the process. Hopefully they will continue to do this with their families as well.

For now, I have mowed down the garden. As I said, with lack of attention and rain, it was an eye sore and bug haven. We are trying the late garden in the South to see how that fares. I have begun more tomato seed (along with other cooler crops) in the greehouse to see if I can get one more batch before the season is completely over. *fingers crossed*

My Improving Phobia

Not scared of the dark. Not scared of being alone. Not scared of snakes. Not scared of spiders. Although this little critter did give me a bit of a surprise, but we let him live another day.

My biggest fear is Vesipidae--any flying stinging insects. Yep, bees, wasps, hornets, yellow jackets. Makes one wonder why I have honeybees. I always swore I could out run them, and must have. I have had honeybee stings from going barefoot outside as a child. I have had one sting on the top of my head from a bumblebee. But nothing else has kept up with me when I have taken off full sprint and screaming. One story that my husband loves to retell at my expense involves me and a wasp in the car many years ago. I was driving, well, actually stopped at a stop sign and there was a wasp perched over the sun visor. He was looking at me. Staring at me. Eye to eye. I had nowhere to go. Couldn't scream, could barely whisper to Bruce it was watching me and I was serious! I got absolutely no sympathy of any kind from him and still do not!

Since being at Valley Creek for just over a month, I am getting more and more used to stinging insects flying around. Honeybees, of course, do not bother me much and am getting more comfortable around them. Since the huge oak tree that overhangs the chicken coop was filled with every bee imaginable, including hornets, the past few weeks, I have gotten used to the buzzing that would send me into a frenzy of flailing arms and closed-mouth screaming -not going to have anything fly down my throat. Now I just shudder a little.

Just last week, in fact, I was hanging towels on the line and grabbed a clothespin from the line behind me, and to both of our surprise, I grabbed one with a wasp on it. I guess I grabbed the head enough it didn't have opportunity to sting me. One of us fell to the ground, bounced back up and took off, stunned into silence...nope, wasn't me this time. I did make an intelligble noise through closed lips, but not a true scream by my recollection.

Yep, I am getting better. I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks or at least modify her behavior a bit.

Change is the Only Constant

I can see where planning on the homestead is probably going to be somewhat of a moot point. Well, the daily planning that works for my "paying" job. There is still LOTS of planning, but a bit more broad. I might have to depend a little bit more on common sense when it comes to what has to be done and what has to wait. Oh dear, this could be difficult for me...Things change. Expect the unexpected. You know the cliches, ones we have memorized to give a word of hope when something surprising has happened to someone else.

Well, change has occurred. My mentor, my friend-my mother is going to be leaving our beginning of a homestead. She has decided it would be a great time for her to travel and enjoy herself since we are here to take care of things and I am all for that. She has spent a good many years (we'll just leave it at that) caring for plants, animals, me and all of her family, as well as friends and even strangers, who all become friends. Now it is time for her to spend some time to care for herself and enjoy herself.

Besides missing my mom, I will miss my teacher, my sounding board, my animal and plant encyclopedia all wrapped in one. I will have to spend more time in books, magazines, online and just getting good old hands-on-experience, I suppose. And that is not a bad thing. I know there is information out there and it will be trial and error. It will be good for my mind to actually have to do the learning myself.

It makes me sad for me and scared for all of us, including the plants in the greenhouse, but I know this will make her happy, and that is all I could really wish for her. I know she is only a phone call or text away, but its not the same.

On the brighter side, I will have a growing magnet collection on my refrigerator from all around the country.

I love you mom!