Still Spring Here

As I write this, I have another batch of banana bread in the oven! 

I just reread my last post, I was baking then, too. 

I have one of these small loaves earmarked for an elderly 

friend, and hope to run there today and leave  

eggs and bread outside the door. 

Yes, folks, I am wearing a mask when I go out.  It's reality. 

I noticed this morning when I had to pop in the store for a few 

things that even men are wearing their masks with pride. 

We have had some beautiful days here lately. 

Two days ago, we broke the record for heat, it was 

88 degrees out!  I actually broke shorts out for the afternoon. 

I was really, really worried about Niblet and Fluffy, the two wool sheep. 

So, let's talk about them. 

I wrote about Fluffy almost knocking me down a week ago. 

Well, my Good Neighbor Troy was able to find someone for me 

to shear.  The other night, they turned up at my door. 

I would show you the pictures but frankly, I cannot get the phone 

pictures to come over right now. 

The young man, Troy and I tried to catch these two inside the pen, 

they would absolutely NOT go into the barn where it would have been easier. 

They broke a post and pulled all the wire loose trying to go through. 

Yes, the young man finally tackled each.... but as they ran at me, my life 

passed in front of my eyes. 

As the young man sheared, he asked "Did I ever trim hooves".  I shook my head and told him : 

"This is why I  need to rehome them, I cannot take care of them alone". 

And then, a miracle happened. 

The next morning after the Shearing Rodeo, the young man called and told me he 

had asked his mother and my sheep will be joining their flock.  I am overjoyed, to know

they will go to a home that knows sheep and can handle them right. 

Here is the better part.... He will use my pasture and Troy's for several months this summer, 

bringing his flock over (there are about thirty).... and then they will all go home in August. 

I get to watch them all summer, which makes me very happy.  He will be over daily to check on them. 

This young man, Samuel, is on the Stranger Creek Fire Department with Troy. 

I am so impressed with him, and glad to make his acquaintance. 

Yes, friends, I am giving the sheep to him, I was never in this to make money. 

I asked him not to tell me what would happen to Cookie, the wether, my pet. 

I have to let go. 

So, last Saturday, I decided to keep Gemma. 

She was whelped on June 1st, 2003.  She will be seventeen on 

June first. 

She is a chicken killer... she had Buddy down yesterday and by the time I got her, 

I thought he was dead.  He can no longer be in the yard daily because of it....  he did revive, 

after his comb and head had turned blue from shock.  I have him all fixed up in the little henhouse today with one hen... he has a makeshift fence in front, and while he would like to be out with 

the main flock, he is happy and has good shelter.  The thing is, she can't get to him. 

She will literally pace back and forth at the fence for an hour, so I only let her out for 

little bits of time. 

As you can see, she has fit in. 

I no sooner had paid her fee on Saturday,  when I had a crisis with Fritzi.  Fritz had been going in and out 

at frequent intervals day and night, and I should have tipped that there was something very wrong.  I rushed her to an emergency vet hospital last Saturday when my son and I noticed she was 

trembling badly on her bed. 

Fritzi was diagnosed with diabetes and it was touch and go for two days.... she did not come home until Wednesday. 

She gets shots twice a day, and is on various meds for a few more days, 

but is much, much better. 

On our left in this picture is Abby, and in the middle, 

Gertie, and leaning on her, Hannah. 

These three girls were our beloved pugs, they had been 

preceded by Addie Mae, who had already died. 

Abby became diabetic.  Keith and I were not shown how to 

give her shots, and we were given a prescription for human 

syringes and needles, and not trained to use them. 

It was a nightmare, which culminated in Abby dying at home. 

For four days, I agonized about giving the shots to Fritzi. 

Guess what? 

NO PROBLEM. 

I think it's mindset, and a vet tech at the hospital took time to have me practice with 

sterile solution.  The syringes are much different, and I am getting ones designed for 

animals now.  My vet has the Vetsulin. 

So far, I have had only one tiny yip, and yes, she does not like them... but is 

taking them like a rock. 

I'm proud of her.  We are on a different diet, supplemented with 

some chicken breast cut into it, and she loves it.  It's a whole new world for us, and one in which I believe she will be around for years to come. 

The porch cam caught this bluejay looking for cat food this morning at sunrise. 

The camera caught Gems as she came out, too!

It is going to be a strange Easter this year.  I did drop off 

a makeshift Easter basket for my two youngest grands yesterday, 

and an Easter "sack" for our little friend Brayden.  How good it was to see him. 

Mass will be said on tv and also on Facebook, and I will watch 

from my home.  

My traditional thing to do on Easter (besides cook) is cut grass, 

but I have actually already started cutting this year, you know. 

I am going to do a little trimming with the push mower this afternoon, to get ahead of the game. 

We are expecting thunderstorms late this afternoon, spring is truly here in Kansas. 

Last Sunday was the seventeenth anniversary of this. 

That is my stepson, Brandon, in front of Keith and me at our 

wedding.  

What a happy day that was for us, and we did not know 

we would only have thirteen years together before 

Keith was called on ahead of me. 

Brandon has gone on ahead, too, and they actually shared a birth date. 

I hope they are not laughing to hard at me as they look down on me. 

Everyone stay safe, and have a blessed Easter! 

My Roosters and Other Stories

At one time, in another land and far far away, while Keith was still alive, 

we had over a hundred chickens, ducks, geese and/or turkeys. 

At one time, we had 16 roosters, and I am not exaggerating, we 

literally had sixteen among the four hen houses. 

This is a shot of the little red hen house, where our bantams lived. 

The little fence Keith made around the front deck is gone, and you can 

see the ramp is simply leaning, and no longer attached.  The last 

chickens that lived in there were probably eight years ago, 

and two years ago, it sheltered the four feral kittens I took in 

from Kitty Cat Connection, until the raccoons broke them out. 

Right now, I have it bedded with straw inside, and the door is propped open so that 

Rusty, the feral cat, can get inside and sleep if he needs to get out of the weather. 

This little hen house was always a problem, I had to keep a short ladder under it, 

and stand on it to crawl in and reach for eggs.... and it was hard to reach with a heat lamp (that still hangs in there)... I had to run a line from the old hen house to it for bitter cold.  

(Chickens should not need a heat supplement, but this hen house was not well 

insulated). 

That's Ferdie, my old rooster (really only three years old!) 

He is the father of Buddy, 

his clone. 

They look like twins. 

And Singleton, who is actually a year older than Buddy. 

Singleton spent the summer at the Ag Hall with six hens, 

and is home for the winter. 

I am lucky, all three are very mellow roosters, 

but the two younger have started running dad out of the half of the yard 

that comprises the chicken's domain. 

He spends his days hanging out by the deck, but never coming up on it. 

He eats birdseed and drinks from the water I keep out for the wildings, and in the evening, 

I put him back in the big hen house, where he avoids his son Buddy. 

This is why I quit hatching, though I fully intended to when I moved back, 

there is a 50/50 chance you will get cockerels and no one wants them.  I actually don't know 

anyone anymore who butchers their birds to eat, so these three will live here until they die. 

I absolutely love to watch the squirrels, I look for them daily.  They drink out of the fortex you see, 

and I keep seed at the base of the big maple.  There is another heated water container to the right, out of the camera range. 

They literally run back and forth all morning, there are actually four eating here, but only two in this picture. 

They aren't the only things eating here. 

Elvis, the black possum in the rear (has a black outer coat) is often pushed away by this larger possum, who is living under the little hen house, the one that is empty now.  I literally have to watch the birds in the evening, because the girls of the big hen house will not go in if the possum is out eating.  He often comes out while it is still day light, so I keep an eye on things in the late afternoon. 

Today a blogger/Instagram poster wrote about rehoming one of her surplus roosters, and 

discovered the hen house at the new home had not been cleaned in months. Well, 

that is the sad state of affairs here.  During the summer, while I struggled with my leg, 

I managed to rake mine out once, and clean it decently.  I need to do it again. 

I am going to try to get to it on Saturday, when we should still have decent weather. 

Our temps are going to fall precipitously next week. 

The old hen house has been cleaned several times (the ducks were in there in the summer), 

but the big hen house needs a good raking out.  I used to take all that over to the compost heap, but 

now I rake it into the fenced yard, and it is picked over by the hens, and adds to the dirt in there. 

Ten years ago, while I cooked our meal, Keith spent a cold Thanksgiving wiring a receptacle on the deck so I could have some Christmas lights.  I'll never forget the selflessness, he 

could have watched football but did this because he knew I wanted some lights. 

We had a good meal and then turned them on for the first time. 

This fall, I had my nephew re-wire them and make it so the porch light 

could be off while they were on, and every time I look out the door, 

I think of how Keith worked so hard that day. 

This sweet little girl has been such a good addition to our lives. 

I have had day after day like this, yesterday was 14,000 plus steps. 

We are still working hard to get the National Agricultural Center ready for the 

Santa Express and Country Christmas on the 14th and 15th. 

One of the men volunteers said yesterday "And then we have to take it 

all down".... JANUARY, I pray.  The only thing I am going to do is 

bring home those of my things that I need for Christmas here. 

I'll take some pictures when I am there tomorrow, so you can see how things have 

progressed.  If you are local, it is going to be really spectacular, and we charge only 5.00 a CARLOAD for admittance.  

The volunteers and employees Judy and Cameron have been working countless hours to make it a great experience for families. 

I checked out Cabela's Christmas Wonderland yesterday, it is 

very small, and they charge 20.00 for a child to sit on Santa's lap and get a picture. 

A blast from the Calamity Acres past. 

(Big Mama, Yankee, and Inca) 

Three of our four little pug girls, Abby, Gertie, and Hannah, resting her head on Gertie. 

Keith loved Christmas... he is ready for it this year. 

Blogville Awesome Retreat Day Two, or When We Really Got There

Friday saw us leave the Holiday Inn Express in LeRoy, Illinois, 

and start out for Brown County State Park, in Indiana. 

Ms. Stella Rose Long was all duded up for the Blogville Awesome Retreat. 

The dress and hat lasted about 20 minutes (but it WAS cute). 

Too hot! 

She has a stroller, as you see. 

There was a scavenger hunt. 

It was designed to get a birthday girl out of the shelter so it 

could be decorated. 

Here came the Birthday Girl, Carol. 

It got mighty hot that afternoon. 

The poor pugs suffered the worst, in fact, on the way back to the hotel, Stella Rose worried us to death, she began gasping. 

There had been a LOT of visiting ... that's Zaphod, looking at you. 

Zaphod and his sister Hailey came all the way from Canada. 

Jessie and Chance the Boxers were there... 

Oreo was there. 

Murphy (l) and Stanley (r), the current Honorable Mayors of Blogville, 

were there.  Their term is almost up. 

Jes and I took a walk in the Forest Primeval. 

Really. 

There was a wonderful remembrance ceremony led by Yamini, who came all the way from Scotland.  Dogs (and cats) who had crossed the Rainbow Bridge were remembered, and I have to say, it was very moving. 

Ernie and Frankie watched from the sides.  Ernie was the original Mayor of Blogville. 

It was so much fun meeting the gentle Yamini, who has lead a fascinating life and had many adventures.  This was her first visit to the United States! 

She was kind enough to ride with us on Saturday morning so we could find the park again! 

And then the picture-taking started.. that's Stanley, Murphy, Dory and Oreo. 

Zoe and Whitney joined them. 

There were many more combinations of pictures. 

Sit still, Frankie. 

Sit still, Jessie. 

Sit still, Hailey and Zaphod. 

As I said before, Stella Rose gave us a scare going "home".  Within ten minutes of being in the cool hotel room, she was much better. 

No one had to tell Jes to sack out.  I'm telling you, he is the best traveler, he got the hang of it within 24 hours. 

They weren't the only ones pooped (don't kill me for this picture, Deb)... see Stella tucked right into her side?  As soon as she settled down, all the panting stopped.  We had Kentucky Fried Chicken for dinner, they were right across the parking lot... and at 8:40, I walked over and got some 

A and W root beer floats as a treat. 

The retreat also lasted a half day on Sunday, but we had a six hour drive back to Keosauqua, across the "I" state of Illinois.... so we were not able to attend the Friendship Ceremony.  

At 7, we had a knock at the door, and for an hour, we visited with our friends there at the motel (where almost everyone stayed) carrying our chairs around to put them in the shade. 

It was a great end to the day. 

End of Day Two. 

Meet Delilah

Well, the surprise is here....

This is Delilah, a six year old pygmy doe.  She was living alone since her companion died and I saw her during the Kaw Valley Farm Tour.  I gave her maa maa my name and number if she ever wanted to rehome her... and Thursday, got a wonderful phone call from Nancy Thellman, of Juniper Hill Farms.  

I wrote about Juniper Hill here. 

Sorry for the picture, I was taking it on the fly.  If you notice, one of the little girls is on the fly as well... there is some pushing going on as Delilah settles in, but I am keeping an eye on them. 

There are some chickens trapped in there, so I am going out in a minute to straighten that out, too. 

I am absolutely blessed to be able to go out and work in weather like this. 

And our color is really showing now.  

What a pleasure to even do errands.  

I proclaim this The Last Snake of the Year. 

In the goat barn yesterday, and I suspect was very lethargic, because I shook the straw and he barely moved.  I hope he got somewhere warm, as it was 27 degrees this morning as I went out to do chores. 

The cold does not bother Donald and the intrepid duck girls. 

And I thought these petunias were goners, but LOOK! 

As you see, the basil is gone, but the parsley... good gosh. 

You cannot see them all here, but the Thellmans also gifted us with six beautiful hens.  I am leaving them in their crate until dark, and then will let them into the henspa, after the hens have gone to roost.  That way, they can find the water and feed, and find a good place to roost for the night. 

They are lovely hens... there is a little brassy back Old English gamebird girl in the back, you can just see her tail.  I'll get better pictures as I turn them loose tonight, and tomorrow morning. 

Of course, I had the help of Pug Power, the Assistant Protector of Us All. 

This was NOT supposed to happen.  While trying to get a rooster and two hens out of the goat yard, 

the babies escaped.  

It took all of 2 minutes for Delilah to figure out how to get out of the pasture and into the yard. 

I turned around, and there she was! 

I had just put the new chickens in the coop, and pulled the cage out.... and boom. 

Not even a Ritz cracker could get her back, she was too interested in the yard. 

Tomorrow, she can explore it, after Keith leaves for work. 

I finally put Lilly on a leash, and after Delilah threatened her a few times, she was happy to follow me back across the yard, and run into the pen (while Lilly looked around in the pasture).  They are all four out there now, getting ready for bed, I hope.  

I hope the babies don't have to sleep in the trough tonight! 

I'm hidin' in here, Maa Maa, so she can't find me!!!!

Thank you so much, Thellman Family, for these wonderful gifts to Calamity Acres! 

We hope you'll come see your babies anytime you would like!