The Cold, Wet Week

It has been a cold, wet week here at Calamity Acres, though I admit the temps have not been horrible...

but the thawing ice has begun our Season of Mud, you know... spring. 

Two cardinals were patiently waiting on this red-bellied woodpecker to 

finish his meal yesterday. 

I got about 8 male cardinals in one picture last night, that I have not 

uploaded yet.  They are the last to feed in the evening. 

I finally (today, Friday) was able to chip all that ice in the flat feeder out, and get 

all that wet seed onto the ground.  I am going to have a real mess to clean up next week.  

I never get tired of watching the wild birds.   And yes, I AM spending a fortune on 

bird seed this winter.   Actually, I have bought some hanging feeders, and next year will fill the feeders, and whatever falls on the ground goes to the ground feeders (so I say right now). 

We know how long that will last.  

There are some unusual little birds in this picture. 

A few minutes later, there were some new birds at the top feeder. 

God bless my late husband for building the feeding station for me, because he knew how much 

I loved wild birds. 

Looking down into the pasture was beautiful in the light.  

As were the apple trees as I came in the gate. 

All of this is melting today. 

Of course, there's this....

I tried to back into my parking spot by the house, and felt myself slipping, so turned south and

took a circle around the lightpole.  Ummmmm, I pulled TOO FAR towards the slight 

hump...(remember, this property was terraced for planting years ago) and slid towards the old henhouse.  I stopped right there, all week long they have played on the news you should NOT rock your car to get loose... I might have tried it for a minute.  My son is coming out after work to 

get me loose and parked again, and I feel like a dork for doing it in the first place. 

Lo, through these many years (since 2005) of living in the country...I have worn 

plain green boots.  I treated myself to a pair of "Dipsy Dots" boots at TSC this morning.

They are comfortable, and were the only size 8s I could find.  So I'm stylish doing chores, now. 

It's in the mid-thirties this afternoon.  A few hens ventured out... only 3 came out yesterday and 

stood on the porch all day.  

They do NOT like the ice.  I do not like the ice.  

Lilly fell on it this morning, and I was pondering how to get her up... she was splayed... without hurting her, when she managed to lunge to her feet.  We have been taking baby steps all week to avoid falling, and you know what?  It wears you out. 

Smart boy. 

This afternoon. 

Invariably, if I look out... someone is looking back in. 

Also at TSC, but, I will warn you... I got a large and they are cut 

small.  Be forewarned. 

That's about how I feel about it too, while it's so cold and wet.  (And after getting scalped by
Great Clips three weeks ago). 

My big girl is still guarding her long-dead possum. 

A friend contacted me last night to tell me that her neighbor is willing to sell me some pullets that will soon be coming into lay this weekend, they are mixed breed, but I don't care.  Five more will give me a boost towards donating ten dozen a week, I am at about six at this point, and am 

using some here to feed the dogs several times a week.  I would take ten new birds, but it would overload the Hen Spa. 

Somehow this summer, I am going to figure out how to feed the ferals out of the weather next year, 

and take back the old henhouse, and put a few hens in there. 

Heavens knows I have enough room to do it. 

This made me smile.  I had just gone out to the old henhouse to put out the wet food, top off the dry, and make sure there was good water in the bowl.  Here came the grey tabby, from the direction of the 

garage (on my property).  I have looked in there, if he is living in there, he is hidden... but that gives me an idea for next season, I might put some dog houses in there.  ANYWAY.... he was on his way to dinner.  He did not see me watching him from the deck. 

In fact, after thinking about it for a few minutes, this would be a good thing.  I would get the 

feeders away from the house, out of the elements... have to think about how to run a 

heated water bowl, but I may be able to run that from the shop (barn)... 

this may be a solution for next year.  The shop classes at the high school make 

really nice dog houses for 35.00 each, and that would be a good deal.  I could put them at the back of the building, and store the mower, cart and some garden supplies at the front. 

Back to the Polar Vortex

Two weeks ago, we had about ten days of bitter weather.  In fact, after 

December 22nd, we did not see the thermometer get above freezing until Tuesday 

of this week. 

We had almost-balmy temps in the 40s and 50's, it was 57 this time 

yesterday afternoon (3:30 PM).  It is 17 today, has sleeted for several 

hours, has snowed, and the wind is blowing HARD.  Harummmphhh. 

Me no like. 

Jester no like.  He did not even want to get up. 

Tuesday, I stocked up on bird seed.  This gives me a good 

feeling to know that I have plenty on hand. 

You know... because I am feeding the southern half of Leavenworth County. 

Current status. 

The sleet covered everything on the ground this morning, and froze it solid.  

I spread seed several times a day, and yes, I am going to have to run to the feed store again, 

either tomorrow or Saturday.  This feed is expensive, too.  I could change the way 

I feed... feed only in hanging feeders.  The starlings would hang on them and spill them, 

and that would take care of the ground feeders, but you know what?  I actually don't mind watching the starlings.  

Two little observers like to sit in the doorway and watch the birds. 

Lilly sat out there surveying her domain (i.e., looking for squirrels) 

yesterday afternoon, and you can just barely see that the little birds were still 

on the ground eating.  Yes, there IS a lot of wastage, in fact, my plan these 

last three days was to rake up seed under the feeder... however... that never 

happened.  Now it is frozen.  I believe over the next week the 

starlings will swoop in to clean it up pretty well. 

Those steps are covered with ice today.  Gosh, I wish I 

had thought to have the contractor put a handrail on either side 

last summer!

Those are the steps, on the treacherous icy deck. 

Some seed falls below the deck, of course,  and 

the little birds are flying in and out of there, too. 

Those are mealworms on the fortex that is turned upside down, 

because bluebirds are stopping to drink regularly. 

I also saw a forlorn robin there about 2 PM, it looked so sad 

and was so thirsty. 

The satellite dish on the right obscures the green finch feeder, but it is 

very busy now with goldfinches, and the other little 

birds clean up the thistle and sunflower hearts that are spilled from it.   

There is critter mix out there too, and a bowl for cat food which I am 

not filling until dark now, or every starling in the midwest would be eating here. 

Those goldfinches. 

You must look very closely at this picture.  There is Harlequin, 

whom I have not seen in three weeks inside the henhouse. 

This morning I went in there with some dry cat food and some 

water.... and heard a noise.  I looked up in the rafters, and there was 

a cat watching me.  In fact, that could actually be Spooky, though 

I did see Harley.  He/She watched me and I went back in the house 

and opened two cans of cat food and took them right back out, 

so they would have a good breakfast on this cold day.  I'll take a 

can out tonight, just in case, when I go to turn the light out. 

My impatient girls (and boy) this morning.  They are captives for the next 

few days, I'm afraid.  I have oatmeal with raisins cooling for them right now, 

and will take them fresh water and a treat here shortly, and turn their 

overhead light out.  I got three whole eggs... and broke one. 

At least they weren't frozen.  

I hope they can resign themselves to being in for another bitter day. 

And The Snow and Ice Came Down

Really, I am exaggerating, however.... Keith and I went on a 

crazy drive today up north of Fort Leavenworth to see if I could get 

some decent pictures...and it began to precipitate while we were driving. 

Oh, yes, that was the windshield as we pointed towards home. 

We had been on twisty, turney country roads with no verges, and I asked him to get 

us back out where we could get home quickly. 

The news was full, just full of wrecks and poor people stuck in 

long traffic jams behind wrecks. 

As crazy as it sounds, I cleaned that windshield off... we dropped the dogs off.. 

and did a couple of errands before coming home for good. 

We did not get a lot of snow, but I suspect that driving in the morning will not be good for people. 

I re-stocked the feed several times today. 

The finch did not have any competition from starlings, for once.  I only saw a couple here. 

He was replaced by a sparrow shortly. 

I am not sure what was going on with Lil today.  We took them with us for our ride... she clawed at the door while the car was rolling, that's the second time she has done that. (Yes, it's scary). 

We stopped in Easton, I leashed them, and we walked around in a small park so they 

could potty.  

They were ready to walk!  

I told them we had to hop back in, and I almost had to lift her in. 

When we got home, she was in and out about five times. 

That was actually the next time she went out.  She does have a sore on her nose... I don't know if something got her... a small animal... or... if she bumped it on something.  It's bothering her, I can see. 

But the in and out continued for another hour. 

Someone else had the right idea! 

That about says it all. 

Did Someone Say Hump Day?

To a retiree, all days are Hump Days. 

Sorry, had to say that! 

Very short post tonight, as I spent the afternoon seeing my brother and 

having lunch with a cousin. 

You are probably all so sick of seeing the old henyard.  I did not pay attention to the news last night, 

and I paid for it this morning.  I had to break ice out of all the water fortexes, as it was 

only 15 degrees out this morning. 

I had filled the pool for the ducks yesterday, and did not dump it, either, but I was able to tip it

out just a little bit ago this evening. 

While I was giving the goats their evening hay, clouds were advancing upon us.  We are going to have a couple of days of clouds, and cold, then sun again. 

This, on the left, is a mulberry tree way down in the pasture, near the brush pile.  It has a root down at the bottom that is PERFECT to set the critter cam.  I set it last night, to see who would take Butch. 

I got nothing this morning. 

I was riled.  (mildly). 

I finally figured out the HD card lock was ON.  Duh, Mary Ann. 

So, this guy was watching me calmly the whole time.  It is NOT an owl... it is a very large hawk. 

Split tail... friend Jill, what do you think?  Dark back, light stomach. 

I had the binocs with me for once! 

And this is the sad, tiny amount of eggs I collected from both henhouses today, and includes two green duck eggs. 

What the HECK, girls???

I think we are expecting colder weather for a couple of days, then a warm weekend... yee ha!

And Jill... I say it's a red-shoulder or ferrugineous... too big for a Coopers or any of the little 

hawks. It's a big guy.  Definitely a split tail, though. 

A Gray Day

We woke up this morning to solid skies, and dripping rain. 

Unfortunately, it started well before waking time, and has turned everything into a sheet of ice. 

Needless to say, I was VERY careful doing chores. 

I don't know if you can tell from this picture, but there was a solid sheet of ice on the henyard this morning. 

Two intrepid chickens came out... how crazy were they?  It was still dripping.  

I managed to get fresh water in the fortexes, but the ducks were in the pasture already. 

 As I filled another bucket at the yard hydrant, I noticed the ducks were each bathing in the fortex I had put just inside the gate, where there was no ice for them to slip on as they drank and bathed. 

And when I went to dump this one and put some fresh water in it, I found a present just next to it! 

I used it in the cookies I made this morning!

Then I heard them... score upon score of geese flying low overhead against leaden skies.... they came in waves...

Some going southwest, some going northeast..

I think I had rain on my camera lens! 

The sound was exhilirating!

Same two Elvi. (All three Porcelain roosters are named Elvis!) 
Have NO idea what is going on with them. 
They were standing there, frozen, touching each other.  Not fighting. 
Just.... touching. 
Strange. 

Can't separate them, they all try to get Butch, who is on the other side of the wire. 

Here's my intrepid Helper, Abby Lynn, waiting for me on the porch. 
She is on Day Three of the Hills Metabolic Diet.  I am happy to say that she LIKES the food, it is in canned and dry style, and she gets a mixture.  
This is the first time I have been able to keep her on a diet. 
Our goal is to get at least 5 pounds off her, though she needs to get ten pounds off... we are being realistic.  
We'll go from five. 

She is being encouraged to come out and do chores morning and evening, except today, when everything was iced up. 

We are in the middle of a winter storm advisory, but, despite the icy conditions this morning... it is 38 degrees and thawing right now.  I have let the goats into the pasture... so the ducks are in the goat yard, where they are happy.... and the goats are rambling into and out of their pen. The goats think they should be in the yard, and are making that clear from time to time, coming to the fence with puppy dog eyes and crying to me if I come out on the porch.  I have gone out to do duck water several times now, but am in the middle of baking and decorating. 

The goats need to get used to the pasture! 

I hope you all have your baking, present wrapping and shopping well on the way! 

I wanted to share something funny with you from Facebook yesterday...

I don't know where it came from, but I know JUST how he feels... is it Robert Redford? 

I know a lot of you know how it feels too... 

A Frigid Weekend and a Short Rant

And on top of it, the Chiefs lost.... again. 

It was very cold here this weekend, and frankly, Keith and I have already had enough of it. 

We kept the dogs in most of the weekend, and the goats had shortened hours out of their pen. 

I was busy doing water up to five times a day, trying to keep open water in front of everyone. 

The only place that seemed to do well was the deck, where the dog waterer took care of the wild birds. 

I did water at least four times yesterday during the day.  The pool was frozen, of course.  

I had not emptied it before we had the hard freeze the other night. 

I kept the fortex filled for the ducks. 

You see all the ice that I have been breaking out of the waterers? 

I dump the water in the old henhouse now nightly.. if we are going to go below 32.  I have so little power in there now that I can't run a heater base for either of the waterers. 

Keith says we will tear into the henhouse and repair everything if we are ever out of birds there. 

We can't move those 8 roosters in with the other roosters of the henspa, though. 

You see how bleak and cloudy it was this weekend. 

Except for right around the time Winnie decided to climb Mount Chevrolet again. 

This is Mary, an elderly chicken I thought would not be with us long clear back in August.  She was clearly bothered by the cold, and all puffed up, to keep herself warm. 

She is standing in front of the duck house, in the old henyard. 

And this was Mary, about 30 minutes later.  I was able to get one socket to work, and hooked up a warming light in it for Butch, my pet rooster.  

I  put Mary in there to keep him company, because she had looked so cold all day.  What did Butch do? 

As I left the door between the two sides open for a minute... he voted with his feet and ran over and hopped up on the roost with the other birds, so Mary got to soak up all the heat. 

So here is what I found in the back of the duck house this morning.  There were actually 19 eggs.  I wondered where two of the ducks had been laying in the last two weeks.  They had drawn a lip of straw up so that I could NOT see these eggs at all.  I felt back there with a rake this morning and started pulling them out.  Yes, they all broke, but I intended for them to. 

I'm going to re-bed the house, and see if they want to keep laying in there. 

It has gone up to 42 this afternoon, and you see I was able to get the ice out of the pool.  I also connected the hose and refilled it, and the ducks were overjoyed. 

(Donald being overjoyed) 

Here I am with Abby and Lilly last night, watching Denver and San Diego, and I bet I look tired in this picture, as I had carried buckets all weekend. 

I was ready to curl up on Abby's pillow and go to sleep with her, believe me. 

Your hair gets flat when you have to jam a knit cap down on it so you don't freeze in the 18 degree temps. 

So, here's my little rant. 

Last night, I ran to the grocery store in Tongie just at dark.  When I came out, I saw a sign on a car in the parking lot, and realized the car was running.  I'm nosy.  I went over to read it, and realized a lady was sitting in it. 

She had a sign that said "Free Puppies".  

I looked in her back seat, and there were four sleeping puppies, BIG... about 3 months old, past the "cute puppy stage".  She said their mother was a husky and they looked to be husky/shepherd... very attractive dogs and a good mix, but .... 

I asked her what she would do if no one wanted them and she smiled at me and didn't answer. 

I said "You aren't going to dump them, are you?  It's cold out and they would die quickly".  

She just smiled again. 

I asked her to please call Leavenworth County Humane Society before doing that, and they would put them in foster care and find homes for them. 

She only smiled at me. 

I did not recognize her from the store, church, etc.. 

I told Keith when I got home, and he assumed I had a puppy or two in the car as I told him, but I did not. 

My rant is... these puppies will be living rough out here before we know it (if they weren't dumped last night) because everyone knows that if you dump a dog in the country, someone will take it in. 

Not true.  They are shot, many times. 

My heart went out to the beautiful sleeping puppies. 

Finally, the lady told me she would "try again next week" if she couldn't give them away. 

My gosh. 

Friends.  Don't let your pets breed indiscriminately!