Calling Spring

I have spring fever.  I want to start my garden, have eggs fresh from my chickens' butts and have Miss finally let Camo breed her.

Camo is little but he is trying like a champ.  If Miss would hold still he might get the job done and we would have some baby goats and milk.  His papers finally got worked out so the babies would officially by purebred Nubians.

This is Miss during late summer/fall.  Nubians have the pendulous ears.

The first shoots of green will be welcome.  Hell, bugs would be welcome at this point so the chickens could have something different to eat.

For now I sit at the computer pounding away at the keys, hoping that the story I am putting so much work into will eventually be printed and people will actually want to read it.  But now that the snow is thawing again I will need to stop my typing and get outside and put the nest boxes in the chicken tractor for my eggs.

News from the snow globe

It seems like winter is never going to end.  And that isn't just me saying that.  I would hate to think what it must have been like for those people who had to suffer through the ice age, much less a mini ice age.

Dispatched two more roosters, including my favorite colored one.  He was the noisiest and the smallest so I didn't want him making babies.  I am trying to pick which of the remaining roosters I want to keep.  There are two that look like they grew quickly and are a good size.

So for my birthday I got a snowstorm from mother nature ..... So Rob is spending the night with some friends in St. Louis so he has an easier time making it into work (or rather can make it into work).  Good thing bull riding was on today or it would have been a total loss.  That and Jr. came in second in the nascar race, which I only caught the last half of.

I noticed when I was moving the chicken tractor that our new (well less than a year old) metal roof was having an issue.  On the side of the house there is some flashing that comes down to keep the wind from getting under the roof and ripping it off. Except that flashing is now popped up - from the wind.  So will need to clamber up there when the weather gets better and pop it back down.  Oh goody.

I had hoped to get more trees cut down this winter but the weather has just been so bitter I can't bring myself to go outside and get it done.  Hopefully the world will trend toward a warmer trend soon and I can knock down a bunch before they start drawing up too much sap.  I need me a pasture for more critters.

And Freezing...

Time to start culling more roosters.  They are getting noisier.  Don't want to bother the neighbors that much.  Especially at 5 am.

Another Thaw

Big Mama only had one kit, this time several days after I removed the nest box and moved her back outside.  She and Lil' Poppa are now chilling in the freezer.

I am doing well with my weight loss, I am hoping that with continued effort I can cure my diabetes but that is a long road.

My first seeds came in for the garden!!  I can't wait till the trees come in April.

Camo is interested in Miss, if you get what I mean.  He is still kind of small to do the deed but he is trying and that makes my hopeful.

We have another dog for the moment.  Not sure if we will keep her but she is learning the ropes here.  Received her from some friends because she and their other dog weren't getting along.  Giving her till March to worm her way into our hearts.  Right now to me she still feels like someone else's dog that we are just watching.

The back yard was a skating rink the past few days.  The snow melted just enough to refreeze into a thick coat of ice.  Especially on the paths I use where it was compacted.  I am looking forward to spring and no more snow and freezing temperatures.

I am making progress on my book again (the third one in the series).  I am waiting for a friend to help me out on the first one, to make sure there aren't glaring mistakes with spelling, grammar, or plot, before I self-publish on Amazon.

&#@%$ you winter!!

I am so tired of the cold and snow.  The constantly frozen water and the slippery snow is depressing.  The world has become a white canvas with grey trees.

I am so ready for spring I will dance in the yard when I can start my garden.

I do have some nut trees on order as well as some berry plants.  I am excited to get them and get a start on having a harvest from this land.  It will likely be several years at least before the trees produce but at least it will be something to tend and look forward to.

The rabbits are back inside because of the temperatures.  I still haven't gotten rid of my extra male.  I just don't want to have to stand out in the cold and do it.  Hopefully next week will be better weather.  I will need to start taking out some more roosters too.

Tomorrow I have another doctor appointment.  If it hadn't been for trying to keep my CDL I would probably never gone to the doctor.  Apparently I have been diabetic for awhile.

rotisserie

We cooked the chicken in the toaster oven on the rotisserie and it turned out pretty good.

I tried to breed little mama since she would be 6 months old, and found out she is a he.

So rabbit stew will be on order soon.

Feeling a bit cheated since the same guy that sold me Big Mama who isn't doing her job, also sold me "Lil' Mama" who he said was a female.

The only one that is doing their job is Big Papa and I bought him from a different guy at the small animal swap so I would have different lines to breed together.

I wish the weather would stop being so cold.

I am diabetic.  Which I expected to happen eventually, but now I have to do something about it.

Need to gather myself up and put more effort into life.  Buy a new female rabbit and get my health back in order.  It can be done.  I just have to do it.

1st chicken

He never saw spring or summer.  He never flew more than a few feet.  But compared to the factory birds he had a descent life.  We didn't name him till the day before we were going to kill him, and it was with gallows humor Rob dubbed him : Rotisserie.

He was the black naked-neck chicken, the biggest of the three and one of the obvious roosters in the flock.

I am going to make a break here so that if you don't want to read or see the pictures of what happened you don't have to.