Moving On Out

I have NO IDEA where we accumulated so much .... our outbuildings are 

full and we did not have this much to start with... Keith and I are amazed 

at the accumulation of "stuff".  

This morning, we went out to the pony/llama/goat barn to bring the 

"furniture" out so that the nice Langford family, who adopted our goats, 

could take it home to be used by them. 

We were so glad to hear that the goats are settling in very well, and their 

lone goat Spot is overjoyed to have some company of his own kind. 

What a relief for me. 

Keith and I had to dig down more than a foot to be able to move 

the benches in the barn, there was so much bedding from the hard winter. 

Keith got a little bit tuckered out, we had to dig out so much hay. 

Our helper wasn't making things any easier, either. 

She and Lilly were escorted into the yard, and the pasture gate closed. 

If you wonder why Keith was dressed so warmly...

Surprise!!!!

It's already gone, we are up to 32 at 3 PM, but still, a rude jolt back to reality. 

It seems we are to have cooler temps this week with two chances for rain. 

As long as it doesn't rain on our parade on Saturday, please!

Look closely, and you can see Fawni and Spicey enjoying one last fortex of warm water 

that I carried out this morning.  For some reason, they ran around the pasture for a few minutes, and then went back into the henyard, where they stayed until their new owners came.  

They were caught without a fight, and crated up, and by now have joined the 

seven other ducks at their new home. 

There goes the bench that Keith and I struggled to dig out and carry out of the barn... in one fell swoop carried by Billy Langford, who now has the goats. 

His wife Katie and kids were here, too. 

Just goes to show what a strong young back can do. 

I found these little paw prints on the steps of the henspa this morning, leading up to the door and back.  

Cat?  or Possum?  

I think cat, but they are very small. 

And this, folks, was the culmination of two and a half years of donations to the Good Shepherd... I had five dozen eggs to donate yesterday... it has given me so much pleasure to do this... and yes, it was very hard work sometimes, but knowing that we made a difference in the lives of our fellow people here in Leavenworth county is satisfying.  

I had two huge sacks of egg cartons to give to the Tates and Langfords, who took the chickens this morning when they came for the ducks... and hope that our legacy will live on, and someone else will step up to donate eggs to the pantry. 

I saved back three hens to take with me to the new house, three standard hens, Buffy, the Polish girl, 

Mama, the white hen who is such a good mother, and Henrietta, a year old red hen who is very friendly. 

However, after Keith and I have thought about it, we really are not going to have enough room.  I am going to take Moe, the little rooster, and four little bantam girls.  Mrs. Tate, who has our chickens that were picked up Wednesday, and is the grandmother of Hayley the Chicken Whisperer, has agreed to take these three girls, and Folly and Fancy, the porcelain D'Uccle pair.  What a relief for me. 

That leaves the beautiful Ferdinand... big rooster, 3 small D'Uccle roosters.... Speedy, the tiny Old English Rooster, and the three old roosters who live in the rafters of the old henhouse, along with a tiny hen who lives with them. 

We are thinking that if the three feisty D'Uccle roosters are gone, that the five birds in the rafters will finally come down for a while.  Our feed store clerk, my friend Marsha, suggested I bring the roosters over to their parking lot and some of the customers there may want them. 

I'm going to do that in a couple of weeks... after we get moved. 

We are in no hurry to finalize things here, chicken-wise.... until we absolutely have finished everything. 

I am taking a day off of moving today, after packing another round of boxes.  

Iowa State is about to start playing and Keith and I are going to sit and watch the game. 

Go, Cyclones!  

Catching Up

I wanted you all to see my spring decoration.

The peep will be joined soon by others.  

A mantel, the mantel of my dreams to decorate. 

Fawni and Spicey don't know it yet, but they are 

going to be joining seven other ducks in their new flock. 

They will be so happy, and so will I.  I will miss the ducks dreadfully. 

Mark from Seifert Flooring came to give us an estimate this morning. 

He had his five assistants in the truck with him.  They go everywhere with him, and aren't they the cutest? 

Here are oldest grands Chris and Nate, getting the dog pen in the pasture out of the 

dirt it had sunken into. 

This pen was used for the small Mille Fleur flock I had... they lived 

in the doghouse you can just barely see, throughout a spring, summer,  fall, and early winter. 

The remnants of that flock left us this week.  

With both boys heaving, they were able to get it up and then move it so they could cut 

the poultry wire off of it.  We are selling it to someone this weekend, and 

they are going to need to take it apart to get it in their truck, I'm sure. 

We're throwing in the sturdy doghouse with it. 

I honestly don't know what we would have done without the boys, Chris's girlfriend Haleigh, 

who lined all the cabinets for me today, 

and the boy's mom Sherie.

She was giving Abby a massage here, and Abby was in dog heaven.  

Sherie drove my car back and forth, loaded, while I drove the truck today. 

Let's just say we didn't have two of the loads quite battened down and leave it at that. 

Friends, I am not abandoning gardening, or chicken keeping completely, 

but these next few weeks are going to be extremely busy while we shift 

our lives over... and then I will be coming here daily to clean the outbuildings, the house, do some 

garden maintenance, etc.  I am not moving the few chickens I am taking for another few weeks, for sure. 

I need to come up with some kind of coop to keep them in, within the fenced portion of the yard, because from what we have seen, dogs are allowed to run free in the new neighborhood.  Ours will be fenced in

And Moe is definitely going! 

Thank you again for all of your positive comments and encouragements. 

You don't know how they helped me get through this week, that was so hard on me. 

Hay in May

I snapped this out the car window this morning on my way back from post. 

I can't remember seeing hay being made in May here, since we moved here. 

Alica, at
Happily Married to the Cows 

wrote about it today, too. 

I don't ever remember hay being made this early around here. 

What was that you said, Ma?????

Hay?  What is hay???

Don't worry, Fawni, you would like it if you saw it. 

(let me tell you, folks, that mud REEKS) 

Here's one of my helpers hard at work today. 

Tomorrow morning, early, I have to take two hungry little kids to see Dr. Jeannie. 

I found out that Dr. Jeannie does not disbud, and another vet does... but he neuters at 2 weeks, and will not do it now.  

I do have the name of someone who disbuds, a goat owner in our neighborhood, and my friend down the road uses her now, since she hates to do it herself.  I'm still fighting with myself over it, and yes, I've studied the pros and cons.  

I kept an eye on my helpers, so they wouldn't tip the cart over.  I had cleaned all the hay out of their barn, and put fresh straw down, as they cannot eat ANYTHING after 10 PM.  I'll be putting their carrier in the car tonight, and praying there is a break in the storms in the morning. 

This cartload of hay/straw went into the henspa yard to be composted.  The girls (and boys) were very glad to see it. 

We are under a tornado watch until 10 PM, and there is a threat of severe storms tomorrow.  I am alone... Keith has had to go to Salina for a 3 day excercise,  and he will be back Thursday night; I hope we have not blown away in the meantime. 

I am sure you are getting tired of snake pictures, but I am getting tired of walking in on snakes mating. 

Really!

I am cautious every time I walk in the door of the old henhouse now, to be sure I don't put my foot on someone. 

I did pull a large skin out of the rafters today, but I broke it... I am trying to get a whole one for little Jax. 

This is one snake, there was another inside the hole he was going into.  I put a new light in the feed room side of the old henhouse today, and it really lit it up.  That may dissuade our visitors. 

Rambo and his ladies were able to go into the horse-llama-goat yard this afternoon for the first time since the babies came home.  Formerly, they had the run of it, since we rarely shut the horses or llamas up.  

They couldn't believe their good fortune, and ran in, checked the barn out, went all around the yard, and then slowly came back across the pasture as I worked.  The babies were able to run in and out and up and down the pasture, while I kept an eye on them. 

I got a bunch of things planted today... flowers... and will take pictures later and show them to you tomorrow.  I had hoped to get the last of the perennials I started this spring into the ground today, but will aim now for tomorrow if it is not pouring.  

I have to drop the babies off at around 8 AM, and be at the dentist 4 miles away at 8:30... I have a jaw infection that has been laying me low.  I hope the doctor gives me antibiotics to settle it down and then maybe I can get some good sleep.  I suspect I am going to have to see the endodontist, but I am not going to worry about it until I see the doctor tomorrow. 

One last picture of goatie cuteness. 

They are wearing the pop bottles out, I am going to have to get new ones tomorrow. 

It's looking kind of icky out, so I'm going to go out and see if I can lock anyone up.  The three little chicks are not going into their pen (they do it alone) until it's nearly dark, but they do go in. 

The henspa girls do not go in until dark, either, but I shut all the lights out early to try to get everyone settled with this weather brewing.