Is Anyone Still Out There? October 2021

 Hmmmm?

I've noticed that the number of readers across the blog-o-sphere, across everyone's blogs, have been dropping over the past several months, 18 months to be in the approximate neighborhood.  It seems that something increased the number of views of the Tube of You and numbers there shot up with the influx of stay-at-home-ers, the kids on tablets, and generally bored human beings. I guess it was simply easier and more entertaining to sit and watch than it was to sit in read.  The explosion of video makers covered everything from trends, opinion pieces, animations, the useless, and the ridiculous videos of watching people watch and react to other videos. But I'm still here. We're still here.  

I like to write too much. I like to read too much, even though my eyesight is jumping the shark.  A nice pair of prescription reading glasses takes care of that.  Now I just need to find the time to sit and write, to paint a mental image of the world around our little hill,  So welcome to my MeTube.

October was positively brilliant. It was a true Fall month. It was never soul crushingly hot, nor frigid.  In fact, here we are, November 1st, and we still haven't hit 32 degrees.  Rains came infrequently, but when they did, they came in bucket loads, inches at a time.  The lawns and hay fields are still emerald green and growing. The trees did their majestic fashion show over weeks instead of days, culminating just two days ago when all the aged dull yellow leaves, fell and blew off in a 3 inch rainstorm. Now even the fiery crimsons and oranges have dulled to rusts and burnt sienna.  

The extra days of warmth for the entire month allowed me to stretch out all my normal winterizing chores over 30 days instead of the normal 15.  I don't know if that's a good thing, or a bad thing. On the one hand, it makes Winter seem 2 weeks shorter. Or is Mr Freeze going to seek revenge for having a late Fall?

Doc has been adding 8 gallons of alpaca manure around each of the orchard trees. This not only fertilizes the trees with nitrogen safe fertilizer and smothers the weeds, which have been getting out of control around the trees.

A downy feather from a molting hen. A sure sign
it's about to get COLD. 

I planted 150 daffodil bulbs in the right-of-way ditch we are responsible for maintaining.  I had great and quick plans for that, until I took a good look at the ditch.  It's been three years since we mowed it to the ground and let it go wild, and I planted 300 native plants at each end. I needed those to get established before I could trim them down. Well, standing there, shovel in hand, I decided this was the year it needed a haircut.  The grass didn't look high from a distance, but up close, it was over 18 inches high.  I topped off the giant mower and got to it.  It's steep, and it's creepy. To safely mow it you can only go downhill, then pop up the roadside (less steep) side of the ditch, drive the length of the ditch to where it's level, drive along the top ridge and down you go again, rinse and repeat. It should have been a quick before I break for lunch job. Hahahaaaa, you've been a reader long enough to know that's not how this works. 
The ditch needed triple cut it was so thick. Then there was the bit that is so steep that I bottomed out the engine. The front tires were on the upside hill, the engine was wedged on the downside hill, and the back drive tires were mid-air.  Adding boards for traction didn't work. So Doc acted as spotter as I hooked up the tractor and dragged the mower out of the ditch and up onto the road. Two hours after toting my bulbs to the ditch, I was finally able to plant.

A quick plunge of the transplant spade opened a crescent, an added twist opened up a hole that I simply tossed a bulb into. I then removed the spade and stomped on the cut - times 150. It really didn't take too long, and daffodils look so great as the ditches green up in the Spring. They also spread so well on their own.  They're supposed to be deer proof. We'll see. Our deer don't seem to be able to read packaging.

The old 1960s, wooden screen frames I zipped tied together and used as a giant, long baby (chicken) gate across the workshop high bay door, finally started falling apart. The wood was fine, a testament to the craftsman of yore. It was the metal screening that was finally falling out.  Oh, but I had plans to use these elsewhere on the ranch.  I first replaced them with short metal panels that had a previous life as walls to our first chicken run 8 years ago. 
Of course the most insane of our birds fly up and over the panels, but it keeps the whole flock from playing follow-the-leader into the shop for a pooping party. But what about those 4 foot long wood frames?  Off to the garden with them! I zip tied them to the top of the cattle panel rows that hold beans. Hinged at the top, they look like a white frame roof from the road. In the Spring, I'll add some wire for the beans to climb on.

A hole rotted clean through the roof from one
bad shingle.

On to the big project of the month, the chicken run roof. This was something I could easily do myself. I simply needed a nice day or two to work. October obliged. Of course there was wind to take into consideration, but that's always an issue here. I didn't expect my steel until the very end of October, three or four weeks is what the website estimated when I ordered it. Nope, 5 days. Well ok then! A quick trip to town with the trailer, and I was home in two hours and ripping off the old, rotting asphalt shingles. This was one of those projects that once started, only had two stopping points-midway and DONE.

I dragged our giant trash bin down to the coop and started, carefully removing the old shingles. They were rotten and being held down with roofing tacks. They came up easily, but the trick was not to fling tacks into the lawn. Once they were off, I pounded any remaining tacks down and assessed the hole in the roof from water damage. Luckily, the damage section came off easily and I had replacement lumber in the shop.  The repair made, I was able to take a break for the day. While the run had no official roof, it was closed to predators for the night.

Day 2 was dedicated to putting on the full steel roof. It went on slowly, but easy and when it was done looked fantastic! Over the top for a hen house? Yup. But it's sturdy, and long lasting, and I won't have to chase pieces of it across the lawn anymore. Plus it makes a nice sound in the rain, which no longer comes through a hole in the roof.

That was the BIG project, but October is full of winterizing chores. A whole bunch of little things that eat up hours, which turn into days, that turn into weeks, and POOF the month is gone. Patio furniture needs cleaned and stacked. Garden tools need cleaned and put away, snow shovels dug out. The alpacas need their nails trimmed. I loathe it and they loathe it, so at least it's a mutual dislike. Water buckets need removed and cleaned and replaced with heated water buckets. The chicken run needs the winter panels added and lighting hooked up for the dark months. (They don't get extra light laying hours, but I need the lights to see.) In the midst of all this the siding guys showed up for the house.  So I spent those days cleaning and sorting all the odd nooks and crannies in the house.  (I STILL can't find the blender, which started the great sort and clean.)

Speaking of cleaning, the manure needed moved.  I almost forgot it altogether. The manure bins need emptied and 100 cubic feet of manure needed spread. I've been using it to make soil in areas that are down to bare clay and don't even grow weeds any more.  Those areas are very prone to erosion.  I figured I could spare a morning on the tractor hauling poo down the hill and back up the other side. I gassed up the tractor, and off I went radio headset on. Easy, right? Again that's not how this works.  The hens were out playing in the late October sunshine. The alpacas were tormenting the chickens. I was halfway through the dirty deed when, THUD. I stopped the tractor. WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?! My back blade dropped.

Hmmm. I turned off the tractor to figure out what was putting a crimp in my day. Did I blow a hydraulic line? Crack and break a brace? Snap the arm on the three point? Nope, I lost a  50 cent ring pin that holds the lift onto the tractor. I reached into the trunk for a spare. Nope, none left. UGH. I had a straight pin and a piece of nine wire. "Quick" and temporary fix managed.  

On the household front - canning and dehydrating still rule the roost. I'm still working on several writing projects. The sewing dummy from bootstrap was a train wreck of a pattern.  I had to redraft it and cut it out all over again.  It is on my 'to do' list for this week. Then I'll move on to a few historic recreation pieces.

And with that I'll leave you with some amazing weather photos. October is great for sunsets, clouds, and for a special treat, the AURORA visited us on October 11th!

An exiting cold front had me admiring the mountain range when I glanced up this morning. (We don't
have a mountain range in Nebraska.) Wild illusion, right?!

It's incredible to see them this far south this time of year, but we sure didn't mind one bit!

Out Sneaks October

I honestly do NOT know where the month of October went.  Ask anyone around here, and they'll tell you it just flew by.  Being insanely busy; harvesting, cleaning, putting up, swapping seasonal linens, stocking up, winterizing everything BEFORE it gets too cold to do it, makes the time slip.  Falling into bed AFTER your eyes are already half shut and waking up before they can creak open for weeks on end takes a toll.

Couple that with the utter lack of light.  Luckily, Nebraska doesn't get socked in with clouds from mid August until Mid May like Ohio does.  I'd go bankers.  No, we've been cloud free.  Our lack of light is from the seasonal creep.  And what a bonus, we change clocks this weekend too. I won't bore you with my annual rant about abolishing the time change.  Let's just say I don't think we need it anymore in our 24 hour society.

I DO enjoy this time of year though.  The air masses from the north fought hard all summer long, and have finally won the right to stay.  The air is lacking the stifling qualities of summer.  The days are pleasantly warm, and the nights tease with a chill that requires a jacket, hoodie, and a bonfire.  The setting sun blazes as it sets, reflecting on the changing spectacle of leaf colors and sets the very air alight with gold and red.  The Earth seems to be giving off its last bit of heat and joy before the grey of winter take over.

The girls, despite their full blown molt, have remained moderately productive.  They have slowed down a bit, but I hope the light (on a timer) in their coop and run keep them going just a little bit longer into the chilly season.

I managed to snap photos of MOST of them this past week.  Most are past their ratty looking stage.  A couple still look like the wind blew through them through a knot hole backwards.  The coop looks like an outsourced pillow factory waiting for OSHA to show up after a workplace incident.  I giggle when I see one of the girls finish a dust bath and then shake.  They loose a silly amount of feathers.  I'm sure the neighbors downwind, wonder what on earth is going on over here!

Blogger is acting up, so I will continue this entry on the next page.

Hyacinth - pale,pink/brown eggs - Lavender Orpington

Violet - light tan eggs - Blue Laced Red Wyadotte

Rose - Light Brown eggs - Welsummer
She thinks she's an ewok.

Flora - sky blue eggs - Ameraucauna - she's my biter, can you tell?

Merriweather - light blue - Ameraucana My lovie broodie, snuggle buddy.

Blitzer - light olive- half Ameraucana half RIR
I call her an American Red

Cirrus - green- half Buff Orpington, half Ameraucana
I call her an American BuffO

Daisy - Sand Brown, usually with white speckles - Light Sussex

Donder - Light Brown - Another American Red
Blitzen's Sister



 

Lela - DARK chocolate brown eggs - French Blue Copper Marana
She's a little high maintenance, but fun.

 

 

 

Not pictured - Zap, the rooster - French Blue Copper Maran

Nugget- Dark brown with speckles - Splash Marana
Olive - Deep Olive Eggs - Olive Egger

Lucy - Dark Brown - Copper Maran
Ethel - Dark Brown - Copper Maran

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





One from each of the girls

Station Update and What's the Scoop with COOPOURI?!

Let start with a hearty welcome to Meteorological FALL!

I am SO, SO, VERY ready for Fall.  This is not to say that I looking forward to WINTER.  Oh contraire, I can't stand being cold.  I do not like wearing 473,000 layers to walk to the barn or coop.  I do not like having to wear mud boots, mittens, and then peeling everything off so that you can move your ankle to drive, fit behind the steering wheel, or have to go inside pretty much anywhere as they all seem to have the heat cranked up to 78'!  The SAME 78' that they refused to set their Air Condition UP to in the summer, because they'd be too HOT! Go figure.

No, I want the dry Canadian air masses that bring warm DRY Fall air and crisp Fall nights.  The night weather where you leave the windows open for the fresh air and at 3 am get too cold, even wrapped like a giant burrito, and you refuse to simply expose a disposable limb to reach over and close the window - or Heaven forbid, get out of bed altogether and get another blanket.  Dry and warm, cool and crisp, yup, that's what I am ready for.


But to get to that, we in the Prairielands, have to pay for that for a couple of months.  I call it Mother Nature's Menopause. We have stretches of days that mind numbingly hot and idiotically humid, then a cold front will swing through and give us a couple of days that are downright tolerable.  As soon we get it into our heads that, "hey, I could do with this kind of weather for a few days. GOODBYE Icky Summer!"  A low pressure system will pulse across the plains, pulling up moisture and heat from the Gulf, and we're back to a living in a sauna.  This great swing in both directions brings our second round of severe weather of the year.  Luckily, we've been on the pretty viewers side of the storms, so far. 

After that blew through, parts of Lincoln had 5 inches of rain.  We had .04" inches.  It was cooler.  Sadly the humidity didn't go with it.  Which left us with FOG.  Lots of fog. 

The all day humid that we like to call the toilet paper killer.  You know the kind of day. You've turned off the Air Conditioning, but you shouldn't have.  You should have left it on to control the humidity.  Everything feels wet, all the time.  The toilet paper on the roll is expanding on the roll and feels pre-used.  I'll say this, I DO love the look of rising fog on a quiet morning, cows lowing in the pasture, an insane rooster crowing, waking half the valley.

Sigh.  The rooster, he's certifiably INSANE!  I am convinced it is some wacky surge in cockerel hormones.  Have I mentioned he hates my ankles?  He flogs my ankles.  This week, while sitting quietly in a chair, he wandered over and took a bite out of my ankles.  I know, all my friends are yelling, "stew POT!"  But he only does it to me, so I put up with it.  If he starts up with The Boy, he's soup.  For the boy, he comes over, hops on his lap, and naps.  He must see me as another rooster.  So for now, he gets the other end of the horse crop, and snuggles.

We've already covered the insanity of the birds in a previous post, so we won't tread into that pool this week.  I am going to speak towards the changing seasons and chicken care.  I know it's September and the days are still warm, and the cold weather seems to be SO far away.  But like so often happens, time just FLIES by.  Work, family, chores, school, or fall fun always seem to make the ever shortening days go even faster.  And honestly, most people don't want to think about the mighty cold creep, the deep freeze, the mighty chill.   This is, however, the best time to be thinking about what you need to do to get ready for the rapidly approaching season.  I'd rather work a little in the warmth (not the blazing heat), than to try to get outdoor work done in the freezer. 

There are many things that need done this time of year.  The garden is on its last legs.  I will be picking and storing the green tomatoes on Friday.  The sorghum is about a week away from being cut and hung to dry for winter treats.  The cantaloupe vines needs pulled.  The corn stubble needs pulled and tossed into the compost pile, which needs turned and dumped into the garden and allowed to mellow over winter.  The new pile needs started with the still green rubbish of the garden.  And MOST importantly, the coop needs cleaned and set up for winterization.  UGH, the "W" word.

I deep clean the coop twice a year: April, when the days warm and the funk of a closed up winter needs chased away, and October, when bedding needs replaced, corners need dusted for mites and flies, the run flooring gets swapped out.

As the weather will be decent this weekend, I may just tackle the run and the compost pile and get it out of the way.  The run is a deep liter run.  It started as 6 inches of cypress mulch on top of lawn.  Over the summer, it has seen spilled feed, treats, lots of green hay meadow clippings, melon rinds, beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, and poo - lots and LOTS of chicken poo.  I will rake out the larger pieces of mulch and loosen the rest with one of those twist tine garden tools.  I will remove most of this and place it in the garden to mellow over winter and some in the new compost pile to jump start it.  I will groom the whole area, and add the old large pieces back and toss in a bunch of scratch to encourage exploration, and then some more FRESH cypress mulch.  That's it :D  That will hold us until Spring when we do the whole thing again.

I will also install the run and coop winter lighting this weekend.  We are loosing daylight FAST!   I will not let the lights run all winter, as I want the girls to have a break.  But the current sunrise at 630 and pitch black by 8pm isn't working for me.  LOL.  All it is a 50 foot string of soft white LED Christmas lights.  Just enough to gently wake them up and keep them from going comatose at 730pm.

I need to really tackle how I am going to cover the outside of the run for the winter months.  I have a general plan, so I'll update on that later.

The inside of the coop needs a little weekly TLC.  With all the extra humidity and little wind, it is getting mildly stinky.  Not odiferous, but a little wet chicken, hot chicken, chicken poo stinky.  Besides a general sweeping and sprinkling of the coop with more DE, I also use a vinegar mix spray that I ferment myself and use to spray down anything that doesn't run away.  It not only knocks down the stinkies, but it won't harm the birds or their delicate fluffy lungs. 

I simply take a quart (or half gallon) mason jar (or any generic) with a good lid.  I keep it in the refrigerator as we finish off oranges, lemons, or limes, I toss in the rinds.  When it is about 80% full I toss in some rosemary, some cinnamon, thyme, mint leaves, basil, vanilla beans, or whatever I think will smell fabulous or have on hand.  I then top the whole thing off to within half an inch of the top with white, distilled 5% vinegar.  I let this sit for a month at room temperature.  After that, I transfer the strained liquid to a large horse spray bottle and just keep it in the coop.  I spray down the windows, the chicken mirror, roosts, and nests boxes and anything else while the girls are out playing.

I also take this opportunity to check the condition of the nest boxes.  Do the pads need replaced or cleaned?  I sweep out the boxes, and sprinkle DE into the deep dark corners. I wash the washable pads and hang them in the sunshine to dry.  When I return them to the boxes I sprinkle a liberal amount of my coopouri blend.  Yup, just like people potpourri, but chicken safe and for the coop only (especially since I live in a house full of allergy boys.)

Last Spring I found a FABULOUS  herb company online.  I still don't remember HOW I found it, but I DO remember that I found it by complete accident.  The Mountain Rose Herbs company has been not only a wonderful resource, but their customer service, product, and packaging is TOP NOTCH!
I ordered Calendula Flowers, bay leaf, catnip, chamomile, cinnamon chips, eucalyptus, lemon balm, orange peel, oregano, peppermint, pink roses, spearmint, tansy, wormwood, pennyroyal, and sage.  I had planned to plant marigolds this summer, but somehow missed that boat! LOL.


I took great handfuls of dried herbs, and mixed them together and crumbled bigger into smaller bits and placed the resulting product into 2 gallon size zip top bags.  I sprinkle a couple of handfuls around the coop and in the nest boxes whenever I clean, or the mood strikes me.  In the nest boxes, the girls play with and adjust the bits. 

I honestly don't know if it REALLY does anything or has any effect on the birds, but it makes me happy, and looks nice.  I do know that some of the herbs DO work against several kinds of bugs and crawlies.  So there probably is some help to the whole project.  I do know we don't have a bug or fly problem :D So that's a start.