Tag: Welcome To The Zoo

And then there were four….

  So, momma bird has been sitting on her eggs in the industrial side of town….

 And I had to do something to help her out,
seeing as the dogs run by her little nest every five minutes.
A little privacy and protection from driving rain was needed.
When I checked on the nest yesterday…
there were FOUR eggs, not just two.
Why do women always make things harder for themselves,
I wanna know.

Speaking of baby birds…
the chicks are about two weeks old now and
with the exception of loosing Ethel,the barred rock chick, on the second day…
all are doing well and GROWING FAST…
I doubled the brooder space by putting two boxes together
and have put shavings in the bottom instead of paper towels, which I was changing
twice daily. Fun!! They get an occasional cooked egg yolk or oatmeal treat.
I’ve also raised the heat lamp so that they will begin to acclimate to outside temps
and their feathers will grow in properly.

Ask me how much I love my chickens already.
The  guys are outside this morning trying to create irrigation for the mud pit  garden.
We’ve had so much rain, the water table is very high in the lower fields next to the house.
This kind of mess always puts Mike in an awesome mood. 

For the Dogs!!

We have just gotten the go ahead to host a dog adoption event through
 the non profit organization Dog Days Adoption Events
 on the last weekend of August  ( 27th-28th) 
 at Parmelee Farm!!

  SO….this announcement is for any local or not-so-far-away folks who might read my blog…. If you are interested in adopting a dog or puppy, please come visit  Parmelee Farm and the dogs available for adoption on the 27th and 28th…  

OR if you have any interest in volunteering in the million different roles that are available on that weekend, please send me an e-mail at karenthisoldhouse@hotmail.com      

  (Liz J., Beth Y., Carol F.,  Lynn R, Helene F, ……you know I’m talking to YOU)

Words from their website….

“DOG DAYS is a non-profit, mobile “pop up” shelter dog adoption event in Connecticut. Our event philosophy is based on the premise “it takes a village to rescue a dog” and we rely on the community volunteers, merchants and civic organizations from the town that “hosts” our event, to take part in the adoption weekend.
Each event will have 80 dogs for adoption, 40 large breed dogs and 40 small breeds and puppies. They will all have been seen by a vet, current on all shots and spayed or neutered. Rescues from around the state of Connecticut are invited and beyond if we can’t find enough dogs to fill the event. Training demonstrations as well as grooming information, diet, veterinary care and more are at every event to help a new adopter take care of their new best friend. “

 I can’t tell you how excited I am to be able to help out with this event…
 Lord help me  find the strength to not bring home another dog
 lest I want a divorce immediately thereafter. 
 I suppose that will depend on the day.
More to come….

Louie Part Two

 You remember Louie a few posts back, right?  Yesterday we took a trip over to Louie’s house so the husband could order more plants.   Oh yes, we need more vegetable plants… the 500 or so we are growing on my screen porch aren’t enough, apparently.

First, an update around here…
The two raised beds in the immediate backyard were supposed to be IT! REALLY!  NO MORE THAN THAT!  TOO MUCH WORK!…. NOT GOING THERE AGAIN!

Except… winter somehow erased that memory and now there is that big patch out in the lower field.  Seedlings are on my porch to the left.

  This is our first produce, last year’s dried  oregano ….. I had labels made for the farm too, but found that it’s expensive, not sure if I’ll do that again.

  These are by far the most comfortable garden/barn/work shoes I have ever worn.  I have always hated the look of crocs, so I didn’t fall into that fad.  However, I needed something for out in the garden and chicken coop and found these at our local True Value hardware.   I’m telling  ya, it’s like walking on clouds.  And they breathe! no sweating.

  On to Louie…
 When we arrived he was giving a neighbor some tomato plants..
His little green house, which we are replicating to some degree…

 He’s already got onions and broccoli rabe growing ( I know that’s spelled wrong, some italian I am)

   His neighbor, Egdio, is also from Italy and grows a mean garden of his own just across the creek.
Wouldn’t you love to have these two as neighbors?

 Egdio is helping Louie plant peas – which Louie says “You  can’t-a buy better peas..ooh nooo”.  Ofcourse, he wouldn’t let us buy his either.

   Now, Louie raises rabbits for food and fertilizer.
This never sits well with me..however… in Louie’s defense, the rabbits always have fresh water, large clean hutches and good hay, pellets and vegetables from his garden until their day of reckoning comes.
In my last Louie post I told you that I have “rescued” two of those rabbits before.
One, sadly, died at the paws of my barn cat. I built a large Bunny  yard as high as my shoulder and thought he’s be safe from preditors.   Not.
Needless to say I was horrified.
The other died in a heatwave when we had a week of near 100 degree days.
While my hutch was large and shaded, the vet said the rabbit probably needed a frozen liter soda bottle full of water in there to help him with the heat.  I had no idea that even though in the shade and able to get inside his hutch if he desired, a rabbit could still die of the heat if not assisted.
Live and learn, is all I can do.
A momma about to have babies….
These are a mix of flemmish giants.. HUGE rabbits

These babies are just two weeks old.. see how big they are already…

uh-oh.

Rude

 I drove five hours –with my mother!- to go pick him up from his birth place in Pennsylvania.  Each Way!  We’re talking a 10 hour car ride – with my mother!

  When we finally got there, he was brought into the exam room and literally leaped into my arms, which was quite an accomplishment because he only weighed about three lbs at 10 weeks old and didn’t know me at all!  My mother said it was a sign that he was meant to be mine, he just knew I would be his mother.   Or something.

 We intended to call him Chandler – I couldn’t tell you why. But Rudy was brought up as a possibility and I have never been drawn to the name, but for some reason it seemed to fit him. 

I shoulda read into that sign.

 He barks incessantly, he has bitten, he is a wuss when the wind blows and he pees on everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING. He drank Christmas tree stand water once and was poisoned so badly he spent two weeks at the veterinarian  looking yellow.  $1,000.  later his liver was fixed.   Merry Christmas indeed.

 Chicken Coop complete!
     Rudy does his thing…  

Apple and pear trees planted…
Rudy’s keeping up…

Since we’re talking potty talk here…
Remember the pile of chicken sh*t in the back field? Well, half of it’s still there
because the manure spreader died right before the snow flew.
The remainder is being spread this coming weekend if weather permits
and we will NEVER EVER EVER get chicken sh*t for fertilizer again.
Ever.

However…. take note of Exhibit A below…
  The field on the left of the stone wall has not yet been fortified with chicken sh*t
The field on the right has. 
In this case, the grass is definitely greener on the other side.
**********
Mrs. N.’s cabin on the hill – a very charming place and she’s agreed to another tour –
Despite the cold rainy days, things are starting to green up and the trees have
their red bud haze….

My blueberry and raspberry bushes arrived…

And soon the garden plot in the lower field will have a cedar post and mesh fence to keep deer out –
 He is a pisser.

The Art of Quilting

  One of the biggest sellers in our artisan gallery over the past two years were Vivika DeNegre’s Art Quilts.  They are beyond beautiful and I am lucky to have two of them in my home – She uses many different color threads, a wide array of fabrics, and her subjects vary from shorebirds to pet portraits to modern designs.  Often in the store, people would say “What a beautiful painting!”  and I ‘d say  “That’s actually a framed quilt!” … Upon closer inspection  they’d  see it – the quilt details are that refined.   My favorites are the nests and pet portraits, which she does on commission – GREAT present for someone with a beloved pet.  I have a  quilt portrait of Bailey and Rudy in my office, see bottom photo.

Baily & Rudy!!….
To see more of Vivika’s work, visit her blog at
http://vdenegrequilts.blogspot.com/
Her etsy shop is here
http://www.etsy.com/shop/vdenegrequilts?ref=top_trail

An Hour of Your Time

  Did you move your clocks ahead?  I do love this practice… a big step toward the arrival of SPRING.

 This morning the light shifted…. as the sun rose and spilled over the back fields, the light cast a warm golden hue.    Robins are scouring the earth for worms and the bluebirds are staking their claim .

I think we’ve arrived, people.. my soul is rejuvenated.

Moving Right Along….

 Thank you all for your kind words regarding our book project.  What the book represents to me is an acknowledgement of  just how far my relationship with my mother has come since the days of my rebel teen existence and her school-teacher/careful-as-you-go way of living life.  A bull and a china shop, Mount St. Helen and a tiki hut, Niagra Falls and a folded newspaper boat. You get the picture, I’m sure. 

 Anyway… to answer a question I get frequently, yes, my GIANT dog Ben and my smallest dog Rudi get along very well.  Ben is an amazing animal, his size does not give him the impression that he should dominate. As a matter of fact, he still believes he can fit on your lap, and demonstrates this regularly.  Ben now weighs approx. 195. lbs.   Rudi weights 9 lbs.  I do love my boyz, although Rudi still marks his territory, pissing on various things if I don’t catch him, the little sh*t. Ben has NEVER done this in the house.  Ever.  That would create a floodplain.

   Big plans for the garden. BIG. Besides tripling the vegetable garden, we have ordered 10 blueberry bushes and 10 raspberry.  My back porch has been transformed into a mini greenhouse, complete with heater.  These are his babies, you see.  I was given the task of watering the other day, and you’de think there were human embryos in there with the set of instructions I got.   We are also going to build a roadside stand, so by mid summer we should have a nice selection of produce and cut flowers for passers by.  We just filled out paperwork for the farm bureau, hoping to be accepted.  

   I’m excited for This Old House to become a working farm once again…

  This is not my photo… but I love this farmstand, would like to have something like it…
  See the heater on the floor?  He’s nutz.

Chicks ordered!

Ok, peeps – I ordered the PEEPS!!  None of you came forward to say NO NO NO, Karen.. DON’T DO IT!!!…  so I’m blaming YOU if this is a bad idea.   You were all so enthusiastic, you chicken people, and even you  wanna-be chicken people ….. that I decided  perhaps it’s not a crazy idea after all.

 I did some thorough research, found three styles of coop I like and the husband is going to make one that is a combination. I’ve ordered eight chicks and there will be atleast six nesting boxes in the coop, with perches that are comfortably wide and set alittle higher than the nesting boxes. We’re going to make a BIG chicken run, with fence buried beneath the ground (predators) and netting over head (predators or fly aways).  Because of our large dog(s) and abundance of coyotes and foxes, we can’t let ours free roam always, just when we’re working around the yard and garden.

 I ordered my chicks from chickensforbackyards.com because they seem very knowledgeable and are pleasant to speak with, important to this chicken coop novice.  I ordered Green GEL to come with the chicks and I’ll buy other necessary supplies at our local feed store.  I also asked that the chicks be vaccinated – I’m assuming that’s a smart thing.  They give you the option.

 http://www.chickensforbackyards.com/

 And these are the flock I’ve put together…

2 Silver LaceWyandotte

2 Buff Orpington


2 Ameraucana (blue green eggs!)
 1 black Jersey Giant
 1 barred rock

 So, chicken people – how did I do so far?   And.. any hints or suggestions are welcome!  I cannot believe these little peeps will be MAILED to me.. but that seems to be the method of most.  I hope they arrive safely and healthy and ..alive.

 They’ve been ordered for early April delivery – “we” still have to build that coop.  Lord knows when the snow will melt.