Chickens-0 Foxes-5

It's on like Donkey Kong now!!! The beginning of last week was not a good one for my chickens. I lost five roosters during the day to the foxes that live up on the hill behind the house. They got Stew Pot my old rooster plus four young roosters I was going to rehome. Ever since then I have kept the remaining chickens and keets locked up for their own safety until I build a fence around their coop. Jeff Lewis, my remaining big rooster was attacked but luckily got away. He hasn't uttered a sound since then.

I have been talking to the neighbors who have chickens and they all have said the same thing. They feed the foxes to keep them away from their chickens. I was feeding Fabio fox ( who resides on the hill behind the pasture) but haven't done it in awhile. So, I am going to start leaving food out for the foxes in hopes that if they have full bellies they will leave my chickens alone. Oh, I did have my brother pee around behind the irrigation ditch where there is a fox trail. And thanks to John over at Going Gently I am going to get some men's hair from a local barbershop and sprinkle that around too.  

On a lighter note, here is Grace growing up! She is actually starting to grow hair now! She has begun to stand without help and that girl can move quick doing her crab like walk. The stains on her dress are from blackberries.

Speaking of food, if you want to make a delicious tomato sauce for your Italian dishes, grow some Cherokee Purple tomatoes, then cook them down in a big pot with just a dash of salt. No other seasoning necessary!  Oh, and German Striped tomatoes are scrumptious! Slice them up and serve. Yummy!!!!

Caught the cats being entertained by watching a chicken on the railing. This was before the all you can eat fox meal!

RIP Stewpot!



Of course I have to add something about animals. Did you know that fabric softeners, bar soaps, lip gloss, crayons, dog and cat food and many other products have, are you ready for this.........tallow ( also called paste) from ground up dogs, cats, rats, squirrels, etc.???  Not all of the above mentioned products have dog/cat tallow in them, but quite a few due! Please check to see what ingredients are used in the products you use. Downy and Dove bar soap are just two of the products with 'paste'/ tallow in them. Rather than posting the link to the You Tube video, if you want to view it just go to You Tube and type in What Happens to Unwanted Dogs and Cats. It was a real eye opener for me!


Mother Nature is showing her ugly high temp side this week.  Very much looking forward to Fall.

Until next time.............................

This n that and everything in between

Howdy!! Blogger doesn't want to upload my pics so hopefully they will fix the problem soon.

As usual life has been crazy.

I bought Grace a small wading pool and she really enjoys it on these rather hot days. Her pool is in the shade in the breezeway so no worries about her getting too much sun. She is teething again! Ugh! I bought some of those homeopathic teething tablets and they seem to be helping her relieve the pain. She has also learned how to pull herself up whether it be the furniture or her crib! Next thing she will be walking and really keeping me racing around. 

My farrier was out last Friday to give all the horses and donkeys a trim. Wouldn't you just know it but two of the horses and one of the donkeys are having hoof problems. And for the life of my farrier or myself we just can't figure out why. Par for the course! I have been carefully going through everything trying to figure out what the heck is going on.

One of the outdoor kitties has been missing for four days now. I have no idea where he is. I have searched high and low for him with no sign. Sigh. One of the hazards if living in the country. Although the other night I was outside about 2 am ( one of my many sleepless nights) and noticed a new cat eating the cat food. Either someone dumped him/her off or it has been here the whole time. I do know that the cat took off like lightning when he/she saw me.

The bats are multiplying each night. The other night I admit I actually had had enough of them flying too close to me and high tailed inside.

One of my hens is an egg eater! Not good! I have it narrowed down to three as to who is doing it. It is difficult to catch the culprit in the act when there is so much that has to be done. As soon as I figure out who is doing it, well, I am afraid she will have to move on to another home. No, I don't have the heart to eat her.

The Guinea Keets are clowns. Downright comical. They prefer the company of the two older roosters and it is so cute to see them follow Stew Pot or Jeff Lewis around. Especially when the keets get out of sight of the boys they just get all hysterical and start screaming until they find them.

The garden is producing wonderfully. The other night I made blackberry cobbler and if I say so myself it was delicious! Here is the recipe I use and it is so easy.

1/2 cup melted butter poured into bottom of baking dish

3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar                                  Mix together in a bowl until creamy then pour into baking dish
2 tsp. baking powder                      over melted butter
3/4 cup milk                                         

Pour whatever fruit you choose over mixture. Do not stir! Bake for 1 hour at 350 until golden brown. Eat and enjoy!  I like french vanilla ice cream on the side with mine.

The helicopters and small planes continue to fly over the valley looking for marijuana grow sites. Obviously there are a lot of them because they fly a lot!

Hunting season for bear has started so there have been a lot of gun shots to be heard. I'm not a hunter so it saddens me when I hear it. Deer season starts next month. I sure hope the buck and his does that live on the hill behind us stay here on the property where they will be safe.

Time for me to go. Grace is awake from her nap. I WILL catch up with all you of soon. Sure do miss what you have all been up to!

Until next time............................

I love it when they're small!

Couldn't help but to see if Gracie would fit in the big cup.
Yup, she sure did.



Until next time........................

Finally and a real eye opener

Well, I finally got my wish. Snow!! Yes, that most beautiful, wonderful, peaceful white stuff. Needless to say I was thrilled.



It wasn't a lot of snow. But any snow is fine with me.




What is it about snow that is just so peaceful. Just love it.



Grace is one month old. Can you believe a month has passed! Wow! Seriously, where does time go!

With getting closer to the big 50 age, I decided yesterday to contact my one sister who lives close by and extend the olive branch. I sent her a text. We haven't spoken in two years because of mother. Haven't heard back from her, so we will see.

A few weeks back I got poison oak again. Ugh! This time I decided to try a different remedy to get rid of it. The thought of using Clearasil ( acne med) came to mind. So went and bought some and guess what? It worked like a charm! It was dried up in no time.

Going to get hay this morning and I am determined to load those bales by myself. I refuse to admit defeat due to getting older. I'll let you know if I have to eat crow on this one or not. :)

Left to get hay. Nope, didn't have to eat crow!! Ha Ha!!!!! I win!

And while I was on the way to the feed store my sister who I texted yesterday, well, she texted back. Looks like we are okay again.

In all these years that have gone by I never truly understood what a real community was all about. You know the one where everyone in the area helps one another. Since living here, even in the short time we have been here, the people of this area area amazing. They accepted us with open arms. The gal at the feed store told me if I needed to charge hay or anything else, that is was no problem. Neighbors are beginning to wave when they see us on the road or just outside. I have been so used to being one of those people, like so many, that you leave me alone and I'll leave you alone. Yup, a real eye opener for me. Have to say it is really very nice. 

Okay, time to get outside and get some chores done. 

Hugs to you all. 

Yup, as usual am going to have to catch up with you all. 

Until next time....................

Meeting



Honey Dog checking out Gracie. Honey Dog is 8 years old and has never liked children, yet here she is accepting Gracie just fine. In fact, Honey Dog doesn't like it when any of the other animals gets too close to Gracie.








I'm sure most of you were wondering how long it was going to take for Gracie to meet the horses and donkeys. Well, it is time. Here is Cookie introducing herself.



Another surprise was Mr. Worm being very gentle with Gracie. Mr. Worm at one time was dumped off at our old house and he had turned feral. It took me about 6 months to finally be able to pet him. Ever since that first pet, we have  formed a bond. 



More pics tomorrow of Gracie meeting the other critters around here. 


Until next time................... 



Shhhhhh. Don't tell.

Shhhh. I should be finishing up gathering all the documents and receipts to get the taxes done, but am taking a bit of a break from the paperwork. Like most people tax time is no fun and stressful. Yuk!  



Yesterday morning Arnold didn't want breakfast and that is an immediate red flag that he is on the verge of colicking again. So, out to the pasture armed with halter, lead rope, mineral oil and Banamine. After a few minutes he was all taken care of. When I went out to check on him he was passing a good healthy poo.  Seeing that I knew he was okay. By dinner he was feeling much better. Like you, I pay close attention to the poo part of owning animals. It tells you a lot!



Have no idea what type of flowers these are, but with this super mild winter we have had, the plants and trees are thinking it is spring time.


My horse decided to somehow darn near shred his blanket which I found in the pasture. So, the next warm day we have I'll be out there sewing it back together.

This may sound gross but I'll tell you anyway. The outside cats have been very very good at catching rodents and birds. So much so that I now have a bucket designated for all the dead bodies. Everyday I take the bucket up to one of the hills behind the house to feed the fox up there. If the fox knows food is up there, he or she will stay away from my chickens. Well, that is my thinking anyway. So far so good.

Grace is doing wonderfully. 

Oh, oh, I just noticed that I have 100 followers now! 100!!! How sweet! I am honored! Thank you to all 100! 

Okay, I suppose I had better get back to tax time paperwork. It's not doing it by itself even though I did mention to that pile of papers it was more than welcome to finish itself up! It appears the papers listen as well as the dishes do!  

Until next time.................