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Time to Redefine our Lives in Oregon

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The Great Adventure part 3

(continued) “Hoping that mama turkey would not be afraid to come back another time………By this time, my daughter had gotten home and joined me in the quest to reunite the family. She held a couple of the poults in her sweater, while we sat behind a tree….and we waited……”

The poults burrowed into their hiding place, nestled within our clothing.

Burrowing in for safety

They totally came alive, however, whenever the possibility of freedom enter into their sites. This was a great thing! Their quietness was instinctual, their flight response was crucial to their survival once released.

One of the poults jumped from my grasp into the tall grass. Even though I kept my eye on where it landed and the direction it headed, almost instantly it vanished…completely disappeared.

A hidden poult! With her head slightly raised, this one was actually a little easier to see.

Very carefully I searched…only me, we didn’t need two sets of feet potentially stepping on the invisible young turkey. All of a sudden, there it was! I scooped it up, hoping that mama turkey would soon return.

My daughter and I sat quietly, looking for any movement through the grass, which was a bit of a challenge since it was a windy day. All of a sudden, off to the right at about 200 ft. was the beautiful, bobbing head that we had been looking for.

This photo taken by http://www.caryinstitute.org

As mama turkey reached the general area where Penni had found the poults,

she called…our little ones woke up. We let them go, hoping they would find their way to her. This was a difficult. What if they didn’t find her, would we be able to find them again?? We wanted to walk up to mama turkey and say, “Here they are,” but we knew that wouldn’t be possible…she would leave again…would she then come back? We just had to let the poults go and hope for the best.

Getting close to release time, mama turkey is calling.

We released, and they ran. Mama turkey called,

the young poults chirped as they moved through the grass. We watched from a distance, but it was hard to tell when a poult would reach her. Not wanting to affect the reunion we carefully, and quietly backed off. Nature was now leading the reunion…….

(To be continued)…the story gets bigger…come on back for tomorrow’s chapter!

Category:

building a new home, Do Turkeys Fly, Great Dane, Hiking in Oregon, Homesteading, moving to Oregon, Oregon, Penni the Great Dane, Poults, Wild Turkey call, Wild Turkeys

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The Great Adventure part 2

The underside of a felled Douglas Fir tree.

(cont.) I gathered up these little babies, and out of the corner of my eye…I saw mama turkey carefully approaching……

….so did Penni, just fractions of a second before I did..but that was enough time for her brain to excite her body into “chase mode” and off she went. Mama turkey immediately took flight. I looked around the area, checking carefully before each step. Wild turkey poults instinctively hide, low and silent in tall grass. They are very difficult to see. Knowing that there were hidden babies right around me, I had to be careful not to step without caution.

A hidden poult! With her head slightly raised, this one was actually a little easier to see.

Penni’s distraction away from the hiding poults gave me a chance to assess the condition of the little ones I had been holding. If you will remember, Penni is a wanna-be-mama-dog. She has helped raise up all 4 broods of chicks, protecting them from hawks, and if Tucker or Karli got too close (she let them know in no uncertain terms that they shouldn’t get any closer to her chicks.)

Making sure all is right with her little puppy-chicks.

I was confident that these beauties were perfectly fine. They were very young, and were still sporting that fashionable egg-tooth.

Still sporting a prominent egg tooth.

They were playing “possum” hoping I wouldn’t see them.

My shirt was doing double duty, acting as, well, a shirt…and also a catch for the poults. They lay quietly in their cocoon, huddled together looking at me with their big eyes…I was surprised at how much larger their eyes are than chicken chicks eyes.

Wild Turkey poult #1. The first little one found by Penni.

Kermit!!! See how much small her eyes are compared to the wild turkey poult.

Following her nose, Penni came bounding back directly to me and the poults. She nudged the buldge in my slinged shirt, indicating that she needed to check on the babies. I let her take a quick look, and big sniff into the pile of young poults…and as is Penni’s style…she gave them a lick (No, not to taste them!!)

Hoping that mama turkey would not be afraid to come back another time, I walked towards the house. My plan…as long as I had the poults, Penni would follow…she did! Securing her inside the garage, I headed back. In the background, Penni shouted her protests…loudly! By this time, my daughter had gotten home and joined me in the quest to reunite the family. She held a couple of the poults in her sweater, while we sat behind a tree….and we waited……

(To be continued)….please come back tomorrow to read the rest of the story.

Hoping you have a wonderful weekend
Tami

Category:

Brooders, building a new home, Chickens, Do Turkeys Fly, Dogs and Chickens, Great Dane, Hiking in Oregon, Homesteading, moving to Oregon, Oregon, Penni the Great Dane, Poults, Springtime, Wild Turkeys

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The Great Adventure

The scene…a beautiful, sunny yet windy, spring day. The grass is green and tall.

The forest brings many surprises, not the least of which are the various, unexpected, wildlife encounters. Sometimes you’re just standing there… movement hits your sight sensors…you look in that direction…and you catch a glimpse of a hawk taking off with its prey, two foxes playing in the snow, the annual, brief, return of the elk, a coyote traversing across the landscape…or a wild turkey being flushed out of the brush by your dog. The latter of these events happened this week, and what has ensued has been another grand adventure.

Picture this, a calm, partly sunny day. There is a steady wind culminating over the mountains behind us, funneling through the openness of the pastureland on this side of the creek. Suddenly, without warning, there is the sound of water, splashing water. Your mind quickly translates that sound to be the unmistakeable pattern of a dog…a very large dog moving at a fast pace through the shallows of a waning seasonal creek. You look in that direction just in time to see a very large winged bird taking flight.

It is hard at first to process the awkward style of the beautiful brown coloring of the bird’s underside. It just doesn’t compute…it’s not a hawk, it’s not the Great Blue Heron, it’s not a duck. And then it dawns on you…this distinctive fly-only-if-I-have-to style is that of a wild turkey.

The dog pursues, chasing this uncomfortable flyer down the hill. I call to her, but it is too late…she is fully engaged! Feeling confident that Penni…the dog…our Great Dane dog…

http://www.servicedogproject.org No…that’s Hugo…a future service dog!!

…noooo…not that one…

Our 2 year old, beautiful, fawn, Penni

…will not come back with a turkey in her mouth, I go about my chores.

After a bit, Penni comes running back…not to me…completely still engaged, runs down the other side of the hill, back to the scene of the great flushing. As I’m watching her, she starts a very familiar game…she pounces! When Penni finds something of interest that she wants to “play” with, she will first pounce at it (sometimes on it) with her front paws a few times…

…..then she picks up whatever it is and runs with it…when I saw her pounce, my first thought was what did she find…immediately my second thought was…baby turkeys (poults! ) OH NOOOO!

Before I could get my thoughts from my head to my mouth and out to Penni, she had picked something up and was jumping around with it in her mouth. Running (of which I look as awkward doing as the turkey looks when it flies) I yelled for her to drop it. She did…then picked it up again…”Drop it!” was what she heard as I approached. She did, then looked at me and back at the little turkey in a very excited manner as if to say, “Look Ma…look what I found!” I picked it up, it seemed fine…soaking wet, but fine. Penni immediately went on the hunt. She found another, and another, and another…they were quite dispersed. I gathered up these little babies, and out of the corner of my eye…I saw mama turkey carefully approaching……

To Be Continued (please come back tomorrow to find out what happened next in this great saga on Haveadane Hill……….

What a gorgeous sky!!

Tami

Category:

building a new home, Do Turkeys Fly, Great Dane, Hiking in Oregon, Homesteading, moving to Oregon, Oregon, Penni the Great Dane, Poults, Wild Turkeys

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Free Ranging Littles

Remember these beauties??!!

Chardonnay (Mama Hen), Kermit, Miss Piggy, Statler, and Waldorf!!

Here they are now!

Free Ranging and feeling great!!

The Littles (AKA the Muppets) are two months old today!! Honestly, I did not plan the writing of this post with the date…and I’m pretty sure we’re not celebrating with Twinkies…pretty sure!! 😉

So, as they’ve entered their awkward stage….

Definitely the awkward stage!

Sporting a wind-blown do!

…..they have also found freedom to traverse around the farm as they see fit. The Littles are very integrated within the older flock and move around and within freely, although, they are the Littles…the newbies on the block…if an older hen wants to stand where they are, or eat what they have found, they do get “run out of dodge” for that moment. The word “hen” doesn’t really reflect the true nature of a female chicken’s attitude sometimes…they can be pretty…uhhmmm…what’s that “B” word??? Yeah…that one!

This Little flock within the flock are a pretty close knit group…..

They love to huddle together.

Now that’s a nice pile of Littles!!

….and they love piling up next to each other to soak in the warmth of the sun. The older groups do this also…but usually in groups of 3 maybe 4 max.

These Littles…they’re fun…they’re adventurous…and they are very curious…

Penni and a Muppet (not sure which one) …

…”Hey you, big dog…that’s my bug, go find your own!!”

The good news with this bunch…I have yet to completely identify a rooster (No, I’m not looking under their feathers!!) I have one that I suspect, possibly another, but none are standing out like in the other broods we’ve raised. A couple of the Littles have a bit of a larger comb, but I have had that with hens as well as roos. There is not the usual amount dominance posturing going on…a little, but young hens do that too. I’m just not seeing the difference in tail feathers…they’re mostly appearing like hens. Wouldn’t that be AWESOME!!!

Hoping you will have a wonderful day today! Thanks for taking this hike through the forest!
Tami

Category:

Brooders, Buff Orphington / Rhode Island Red Mix, Buff Orpington, building a new home, Chickens, Dogs and Chickens, Great Dane, Hiking in Oregon, Homesteading, Muppets, Oregon, Penni the Great Dane, Rhode Island Reds

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A Merging of the Minds

Great News!!…the “Middles” (formerly known as the “Littles”) have had a merging of the minds with the adult flock (the Untouchables) … they are now one cohesive flock with our gentleman Buff Orpington rooster, Benedict, leading the way!!!

The Captain of this ship….the mighty Benedict!

After much confusion and chaos within the flock …. 4 of the 8 “Middles” were…uuhhuumm…of age roosters,

Two of the young adult roosters of the Middles. They were really handsome boys!

Buff Orpington / Rhode Island Red cross … a really handsome roo.

…it became necessary to calm the flock. During the past few weeks, hens were on constant alert and flight from the rogue, young roo’s, and Benedict was extremely busy defending his fleeing hens from the pursuing marauders. Egg production fell off drastically…not one of our feathered friends were happy. I had grown a little too attached to the “Middles” …. they were our first chicks to hatch on the farm … neither Tony nor I relished the idea of culling the four young roo’s. Our neighbors, on the other hand, were happy to fill their freezer with some additional poultry…so off they went. Even my little, Austin (the spraddle legged chick at hatching) couldn’t stay … I actually kept him for a little while longer than the others … but he was just not having a happy life with Benedict at the helm. Benedict is, and will continue to be, our flock’s leader. The four younger roosters had a good life, a great life really, free ranging as soon as their age and weather allowed … fruits, vegetables, and once even leftover salmon … then they provided for a large family … I feel good about that!

The flock chllin’ during an afternoon rain…EVERYTHING becomes a chicken roost.

Egg production has risen once again … and the middle hens are now laying!! They are cohesive with Benedict and the other hens…their minds have merged into one flock!! And the “Middles” are now doing this…….

A combo catch from the Untouchables, and the Middles!

Who laid the egg on the right???

Newbie eggs are a bit smaller than the more…. sophisticated egg layers!

With all the winged gallinas feeling more relaxed, and the “Middles” now producing… we are now getting 6 to 8 eggs everyday….anybody want a dozen???

Hoping you all have a moment in the sun! Thank you for hiking through the forest with me today!

Tami

Category:

Buff Orphington / Rhode Island Red Mix, Buff Orpington, building a new home, Chicken Eggs, Chickens, Homesteading, moving to Oregon, Oregon, Rhode Island Reds

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Change is in the Wind

These wild Lilies are growing everywhere in the shady/partial sunny places right now.

My thoughts have been so distracted as of late. Really!! Can’t the world just step aside and stop threatening to take time from us? Time from the needs of our farm, from being physically present to care for our family, from being able to take the time to grow and prepare our own food, from the ability to write a simple blog post. I’m sure most of us feel this way … this past week has been especially hard for me due to changes at work which will directly affect my position, and my availability for those things I just mentioned. My husband has felt it all along, but he is driven to be a great provider. He, with God’s great blessings, have made this whole farming thing possible…I do not say, “Thank you,” to Tony enough…not nearly enough.

The outdoor brooder…now a roost…maybe we need more chickiepoohs! 😉

So life on this farm will be changing, soon. I’m going to have to figure out how to flip-flop some things, how to get ahead of the game on others, and how to get everything done in a timely fashion so that we are not eating dinner at 10:00 p.m. rather than 9:00 …. 7:00 p.m. which was my goal, definitely seems a bit out of the running, but we’ll see. Right now, through summer, the impact will seem less as the sun is up until about 9:00 p.m…it will be the dark, earlier evening hour seasons that will become much more difficult. Maybe this is the incentive I need to kick up my understanding and knowledge of an income producing small farm, and work towards that goal. I think that is a goal worth striving towards!

In the meantime, I must remember that change does not inherently equal a worsening of conditions…it may even result in a more enjoyable life experience (in this case, at work.) And, since I believe that Jesus Christ is the author of my story…the Pilot of whom I seek to follow…the Protector of my home and family…and the Great Counselor from whom I gain wisdom and guidance…my family, myself, and our farm are in great hands!!! Nothing shall befall me that He doesn’t already know, and that He can’t handle!!

Please enjoy this rainy, spring day of Oregon…..

Hoping you all have a wonderful day!
Tami

Category:

Brooders, Buff Orphington / Rhode Island Red Mix, Buff Orpington, building a new home, Chickens, Great Dane, Homesteading, moving to Oregon, Oregon, Penni the Great Dane, Rain, Rhode Island Reds, Springtime, Wild Lilies

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13 is a Beautiful Number

And here’s why……

Oops, got into a briar bush!

Hey can I go to the mailbox too??

Stupid kid…get off my bed!

It’s hot…could someone get me a smoothie??

Wait, when did the sun come up??

Did someone say Twinkie??

I think I’m stuck!!

I love sitting in the shade with my daddy!

HAPPY 13TH BIRTHDAY, TUCKER !!!!!!

Category:

13, German Wirehaired Pointer, Happy Birthday, Homesteading, moving to Oregon, Oregon

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Growing Season

A farmers delight, a heavenly sight, a mix of sun and rain, a blessing for the growing grain….and weeds, and trees, and tomatoes, and…….. IT’S GROWING SEASON!!

Last year’s cantaloupe 2013

Enter the keep-working-till-the-sun-goes-down-eat-dinner-around-9:00 p.m. busy season. Well actually, in about a month it will be 9:00….right now it’s more like 8:15 🙂 I need to get my routine down a little better this year, and head inside in the late afternoon to prep dinner during the higher heat hours of the day. Otherwise, I find myself trying to throw something together around 8 p.m. or later. My goal is to have dinner ready to eat by 7:30 p.m. this summer…that would be a good change.

The early evening hours hold chores. There are dogs to feed, the tidying-up of the chicken house (poop control, new water, food, and shavings in the nesting boxes, sleeping areas (for those who don’t seem to like to roost), and brooder area (if we have chicks…which we always seem to have chicks – thanks Chardonnay…oh and of course Benedict!!) Also, a nice, general tossing of new shavings really freshens up the place.

Benedict and some of his ladies…a little molting going on.

I prefer a “clean” chicken house (is there really such a thing) when the Roommies show up for their night’s stay. When the sun rises, it’s out to the let the Roommies roam for the day; a quick look, and removal of any poops in or near the nesting boxes, and a freshening of the brooders water (always seems to need freshening.) With the extra effort, we have very few eggs with any soiling on them.

WOW, did I ever get distracted!!! This post was supposed to be about this year’s vegetable garden 8)

So, here it is…so far. For the most part, we’re using planter tubs again this year. Hopefully by next spring we will have a proper fence, better gopher control, defined planting areas, and a more defined watering system. I’m hopeful!!! In the meantime, here is what has been planted so far…

The Douglas Fir mulch lining the garden.

Cantaloupe, and Strawberries

That empty container is waiting for watermelon.

Sugar Snap Peas, and regular pod Peas

Cabbage, zucchini, broccoli, yellow onions

Grape tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, etc.

Russet Potatoes and Red Potatoes

I’m getting quite used to using one of these.

Well…it’s not fancy, but the veggies and fruit will be awesome nonetheless. I still have a few more things to plant, but it’s finally coming together!

Category:

Brooders, Buff Orphington / Rhode Island Red Mix, Buff Orpington, building a new home, Chicken Eggs, Chicken House, Chickens, Homesteading, moving to Oregon, Rhode Island Reds, Vegetable Garden

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Timber Farming

I’ve come to the conclusion that we are officially a farm! I haven’t really embraced that until this past week…it’s a good, good feeling!! Tony and I are working to become as independent as possible by growing our own food, raising our own protein (notice I didn’t say that nasty word…meat ) creating our own energy sources, maintaining our own septic system, and we are not hooked up to a public water source – we’re on our own well. Going off grid?? I don’t think we are totally there yet, and not really part of our goal…we like our Direct TV connection (but are looking at some very viable options to that,) we like to flip a switch and have a constant stream of electricity (but there could be news on that horizon soon,) we have to have internet connection – DUH!!

A big part of our farm is timber management. There is a period of about 4.5 months that we can trim, and cut down trees – 2.5 months in the spring…2 months in the fall. These time frames occur between the more constant precipitation months (rain, snow) and the fire restriction months (unknown to many, Oregon does have a dry season.) Tony and I don’t care to use chainsaws in wet weather…just a personal preference. So this past week, we have been working on our firewood supply for the 2015-2016 fall – winter season.

Tony, sizing up a tree to fall.

We have a rotating wood stack system to make sure the logs we burn are dry and burn well, and clean. There is a lot less smoke created when the logs are dry…and they burn hotter which is the goal! A hotter fire means less energy cost from not running our heater…then of course there are blankets gracing the backs of the couch, and recliners! I know, I know…GET BACK ON TOPIC!!!

One side of the wood paddock has been burned through the winter.

The paddock on the left is the space we need to fill.

My man, Tony, taming the forest!

This Douglas Fir tree was too close to the other, and it had an unsafe curve….we are thankful for the heat it will generate in our wood stove during the cold winter months. The other tree will have a chance to fill out, it’s already very tall.

Whoops!!!

The looonnnnggg view of a very tall tree.

Douglas Fir Tree

How old do you think this tree was…

Can you count the rings??

This stump is of a Douglas Fir cut down by the previous owners about 10 years ago and sold in the timber market…

This must have been a huge, beautiful tree!

Next in our process was gathering the wood, and chipping the parts not suitable for the wood stove. Tony cut logs into splittable size….

Sizing logs for splitting1

I ran the chipper (we try not to make burn piles as much as possible)….

We’re not going to burn thin branches full of fir needles.

Look at those beautiful chippings!!

We had an extra helper….

Even Penni got into the process!!

I wish you could experience how good the air smells around the mulch pile…it’s like the most fragrant Christmas Tree ever!! Take a deep breath in….ahhhhhhh!! We’ll be spreading this mulch around the garden for pathways without mud.

Beautiful mulch pile!

The wood pile ready to be split…

Resting peacefully, waiting to be split and stacked.

This stacked pile is the result of two trees. It should last the better part of a month if our late fall / winter temps are the normal 20’s to 40’s.

We need to build this stack as high as the highest log, and forward to the front of the pallets!

The house temps will range from 70 degrees (the hub of the home) to around 52 degrees (the outlying bedrooms) running just the wood stove. This saves us about $200.00 a month or more…well worth the effort! We’ll repeat the tree-log-chipping-splitting-stacking process for about 6 – 8 more trees this season. It’s healthy for our timber to thin the forest…and it’s healthy for our heating bill to create our own energy in the winter. The relationship with nature in our everyday lives is exciting, and very, very refreshing!!

Category:

Chipper, Cold weather, Cutting down trees, Great Dane, Homesteading, Logging, moving to Oregon, Oregon, Penni the Great Dane, San Francisco Bay Area, Silicon Valley, Timber, Timber Farming

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Better Late than Never

Well, they have arrived!! Tony and I were pretty much convinced that the window had closed, and the yearly visit was not to be. We missed our friends, and wished that we could roll back the calendar for just a day to look upon their elegance. No doubt this is a curious way to speak about a friendship, I mean, I would laugh…really hard…if someone spoke of me that way, I’m just so NOT elegant! However, these friends that I talk about walk, dress, and present themselves so differently. I catch myself looking at them, no, gazing at them…sometimes too long. When their eye catches mine, I am somewhat embarrassed; they seem uncomfortable. I would too. It’s just really hard to turn away.

Our friends showed up yesterday morning, unannounced!! That kind of spontaneity is not always easy for me, I must admit, but their faces were so familiar…through my surprise, I tried not to stare…but stare I did. I’d like for you to meet them……

The Elk have returned!!

Their appearance was brief, and they did not return this morning…but the elk may be back tomorrow!! Last year, they came quite close to the house. It is so amazing how incredibly HUGE they are!!! The pictures below are quick shots we were able to capture last year. The elk are very quick to retreat if they sense we are watching, so we could only get this close using the camera on our phones…please forgive the quality…

Believing that this is the one and only time we’ll get a glimpse of our seasonal guests this year, we say, “Welcome!!,” and, “See you next year!!!”

Category:

Elk, Hiking in Oregon, Homesteading, moving to Oregon, Oregon, Springtime

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A Blessing and a Curse

Oregon, west of the Cascade Mountains, is green. To quote a famous frog named, Kermit,… “It ain’t easy being green…” is an understatement. Oh, the green permeates the environment quite readily as soon as the first rains hit the ground after the dry season of summer….wait….what? You didn’t know that up here in the Pacific Northwest we have a dry season? Well, in fact, we do!

The dryness of a late summer walk with Tucker & Karli.

But that’s another discussion!! So to get back to topic…it’s a wondrous sight to watch how the grasses green-up in mid-fall, yet they don’t really grow due to a shortened day. The grasses remain a straw-like green throughout the winter…even under a blanket of snow…but the show really begins as winter starts turning to spring. The vibrancy that ensues is absolutely gorgeous!! This is a true blessing!!

As I stand outside, I see that blessing everywhere around me.

The beautiful green…the beautiful Penni!!

This compound color of blues and yellows surround our land in differing hues…it is quite stunning! However, there is another picture in my mind that I have to continually blot out so as not to hinder the true romance of the spring eruption…that is the “curse”…one of hours and hours of….MOWING…GRASS/WEED/BRUSH/ENORMOUS WILD BLACKBERRY BUSH CONTROL!!! ugghh! My husband and I keep about 17 of the 34 acres we live on groomed or in some areas, just managed. The other 17 are left to be natural wooded acres for wildlife and just, well, nature to thrive. It is a very healthy forest. Once we get the bridge rebuilt across the creek, we’ll be able to groom the already existing trails. Right now we hike back there with a machete in hand for the overgrowth.

While we wait for the ground to solidify a bit from the winter/spring rains allowing us to get this toy…

She sure doesn’t look that new anymore!! LOL

…out and mowing, yesterday, I started on grass management within the pond…that is the removal of dead grasses that float causing a disruption to birds, and frogs…besides looking really yucky. Tony and I don’t use any pesticides, fungicides, etc. on the property so the work to keep the land and water manageable is very labor intensive. Sometimes we win…sometimes the forest wins…but either way, it is a healthier ecosystem! So for almost 3 straight hours yesterday, using an 8 ft. long pool cleaning pole with an attached net, I cleared the pond of all the dead grasses that I could reach….

BEFORE:

The pond full of dead grasses.

AFTER:

I couldn’t reach everything, but it will eventually make it’s way closer to shore.

BEFORE:

The right side is where I’ve already worked.

AFTER:

Most of what is left on this side are still rooted.

It was a hard job, but well worth it! Gloria’s Pond looks beautiful once again, and the balance of the ecosystem has not been compromised! I read somewhere that you can tell a healthy pond by the presence of frogs because they breathe through their skin…I’m very happy to report…we have a lot of those guys!!!

Category:

building a new home, Frogs, Great Dane, Hiking in Oregon, Homesteading, moving to Oregon, Oregon, Penni the Great Dane, Pond, Springtime

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Gloria’s Pond

Just a quick post….BREAKING NEWS!!

Previously, I wrote about our resident wild duck, Gloria, on our pond, on Gloria’s Pond.

GLORIA!!! Our little wild duck that migrates back to the pond every spring!!

She comes home to the pond every year ushering in the start of spring. Gloria has lived half the year at the pond since we have been part of this property…8 years now (I know, we just officially moved here 2.5 years ago…long story….we had been visiting the property for 6 years prior.) This beautiful duck has hatched a few clutches of eggs over the years, sadly, none have grown to maturity. There are predators on this land, including this big guy…and he routinely visits the pond.

Beautiful yet dangerous to frogs and baby ducklings.

I have often wondered where Gloria goes in the winter-time. Our family likes to think that maybe she flies south to the Bay Area, landing in a park that we frequented on the outskirts of the San Francisco Bay…along with dozens if not hundreds of Canadian Geese. I wonder why Gloria is such a solitary duck, most years spending the spring and summer by herself. I wonder what kind of duck Gloria is, actually, although I think she is a type of Mallard. I wonder if Gloria is a Gloria….or a Gordon?…she is actually kind of dark and green for a Gloria. (She will always be Gloria…no matter.) I wonder why Gloria came back to the pond when there seemed to be so much cold and rain still ahead of us (if she migrates to – from CA she may have been misguided by their drought this year.) I wonder why Gloria died yesterday? 😦

Walking up from the mailbox, I found our little wild friend lying motionless in the seasonal stream that is fed by the runoff of the pond.

A very sad sight!

I didn’t know what happened…I still don’t know what happened. I put on some gloves and checked her over; there were no wounds that I could see. Her eyes were still clear, so if Bear Grylls is right, she had only died an hour or two before I found her. I did, however, find out something really incredible….Gloria was insanely beautiful!!

She was marked so beautifully.

The emerald green of our Gloria.

Maybe the days of continuous rain was too much? Maybe the lack of natural cover due to the delayed blooming of spring caused too much exposure on an old duck? Maybe both of those things, combined with morning temps dropping into the low 30’s weakened our old girl to a point she couldn’t recover? I don’t know…but I miss our little wild friend.

Gloria’s final resting place under her favorite tree, next to her pond.

I’m NOT liking this…I’m not liking this at all!!

Category:

California, Cold weather, Great Blue Heron, Homesteading, moving to Oregon, Oregon, Rain, San Francisco Bay Area, Wild Ducks

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Rain, Rain, & More Rain

When did this last string of rain start? I don’t remember…I think it has been the long side of a week. There are a few breaks here and there, but for the most part, big, fat, juicy drops have been falling constantly from the sky. Everything is soaked!

We’re starting to float!!

The new hatchlings are toasty warm thanks to Mama Hen, Chardonnay, and a handy dandy heat lamp. The Littles, who are not so little anymore…

Not so Little anymore!

…are getting drenched. Although everyone enthusiastically shares the chicken house at night…there is still some intimidation going on by the “Elders” towards the Littles during the day. This teenage flock are gaining in confidence, but are not quite there yet. During the day, if the Elders are in the house, the Littles stay out. They haven’t yet learned of the different areas around the farm to find shelter besides one,…

Trying to keep dry from the sideways rain doesn’t work to well when there’s only one wall.

…and if rain is going sideways, it doesn’t keep them as dry as I would like. In a huge desire to freshen up the chicken yard, unfortunately, I dismantled their outdoor cabana a little too early.

Wish I hadn’t taken down the cabana yet….well, at least the Lowes boxes are still one…hahaha!

The Elders are much more refined in their rain behavior. They find good cover, and stay pretty dry…..

They’re a bit wet from all the rain.

…so compare these two Littles, Pontiac (closest to front) & my man Austin, to Benedict and Claudio above….

These two little roosters do not quite know how to manage all of this rain.

….who do you think are more rain-challenged?? Everyone gets a good supply of cracked corn in the early evening to hopefully help them have a warmer night. Here’s a quick little video…it’s really quick….hope you like it.

And the Muppets continue to grow.

Kermit takes a ride!

Category:

Brooders, Buff Orpington, Chicken House, Chickens, Homesteading, Muppets, Oregon, Rain, Rhode Island Reds

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Sweet Sorrow

Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow.
William Shakespeare

Little Don John…one of the four Untouchables!

Adult Don John

I let my chickens out this morning as usual, everything seemed normal. I don’t usually count them, they just come running out and I say, “Good morning” to the flock. However, I had an unfortunate surprise when I checked in on my flock this afternoon. Sweet Don John, one of the 4 originals…the Shakespearians (named after Much Ado About Nothing), the Untouchables, was lying face down in the hen house, under the roosting area. (Warning – the following pictures show a dead chicken.)

Oh no…what happened?

I took her out and laid her down on the grass so I could look her over. She had not been acting oddly, or sickly in any way. I checked her for apparent injuries, no wounds. Her eyes, nose and beak were clear…no sign of any discharge. The only thing that resonated any thought of possibility was her right chest was soft and maybe filled with fluid. Maybe that’s normal, she had been laying chest down….and isn’t that the area that gets swollen when chickens have a big meal? In any event it was soft and pliable while rigor mortis had obviously set in.

Something remarkable happened while she was lying on the grass…at least I thought it was remarkable. The three remaining Shakespearians (Benedict, Claudio, and Don Pedro) came over to check on their 4th partner in crime. They checked her out, and Benedict wouldn’t leave her side. He even did his rooster dance around her, I’m assuming to get her to stand up. It was sad, heart warming, and completely amazing! I love that big ol’ rooster, Benedict.

Claudio saying goodbye to her friend, Don John

We buried her on a nice gentle slope, in soft dirt, amidst newly planted Douglas Fir saplings.

Her final resting spot.

We’ll miss you Don John!! You were a nice hen. Thank you for all the eggs you gave us, and even though you didn’t like to be picked up, you always ran up to greet us. And now there are 15….but wait….

Chardonnay is on the nest again!! Hatchlings due around the 28th of March!! What the heck am I thinking??

Category:

Buff Orpington, Chickens, Hatching Chicks, Homesteading, moving to Oregon, Oregon, Rhode Island Reds

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Salamander Hole Revisited

It has been raining a lot the past few days. In fact, we have measured 3.64″ in the last two days. Since the conditions were very similar to the day I met our resident monster salamander (see Alien Invasion) I went to check on my elusive friend. Quite a few days had passed from the time I last saw her…but actually, let me back track a moment.

A couple of days after my initial “first contact” with the alien invader, I ventured back to her little hide-out. We had a couple of days of dryer weather, and I wondered if she was okay. She was laying in the hole, looking kind of dead actually. I decided to try a little water, so with bucket and water in hand, I poured it down the sides of the hole so that it wouldn’t be a direct hit on top of her. She moved!! Being really excited now, it seemed that a little more water would be a better idea. My next move was to try and think like a salamander…hhhhmmm…I think I’d like to have an earthworm or two. There was a shovel, and there was a patch of very moist soil…worms!!

Yeah, kind of gross, but it will feed the salamander. The flecks of blue are lint from my pocket.

There was a surprise at the bottom of that salamander hole, of which, I couldn’t see until I looked at the picture…. Can you see it?? Hint: In case you don’t remember, that original salamander alien encounter was with a very large, black, slimy critter…

A hidden item in this photo.

You found it!!! All of a sudden there were two amphibians at the bottom of that hole!! After a couple of days, the duo disappeared slowly into the access hole at the bottom of the deep hole. Well, the last couple of days of heavy rain did fill the hole back up with water until this afternoon during a break in the rain, it was slowly absorbed. Okay…bring us to about 5:15 p.m. today…..all that I can say is there is something very strange going on at the bottom of that post hole. I don’t know what’s going on!! You need to click on the picture, and then zoom it up to get the full effect.

That’s no salamander…that’s a rat!

Yes, that’s a rat…the other stuff lying around it….is anybody’s guess. In fact, what do you think it is? Did the rat eat the salamander?? Gross!!

Category:

Ambystoma gracile, Hiking in Oregon, Homesteading, moving to Oregon, Northwestern Salamander, Rain

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It’s Springing Like Crazy!!

Contrary to popular belief…I haven’t yet lost my marbles….well maybe not all of them. :o) I know it’s still winter, and much of the country is still experiencing the freeze from the polar vortex…

Amazing images from NASA!!

….but I’ve learned that once these guys come out from the mud….

…Spring is springing, spranging, sprunging…it’s knocking, loudly, at the door!!! I recorded this frog song last year in April, so right now they are not singing as loudly, or voraciously, but the brave have emerged and are singing in the early dusk evenings. It’s very exciting, and hopefully, encouraging to my friends out in the Mid-West and on the East Coast…especially to the amazing dogs (Great Danes) and people of the Service Dog Project in MA ( servicedogproject.org ) whom, btw, you can watch live on Explore.org!

OKAY…ENOUGH OF THIS FROSTY, WHITE, COLD STUFF ALREADY!!

Photo by Mark Arimault

With this being our third “emergent of spring-time” season, we think we have discovered a pattern with the onset of the frog songs. They are like our groundhog…our indicator to start planting seeds in the greenhouse (okay, we don’t have a greenhouse yet…but when we do…) and then into the ground in six weeks. We started hearing the frogs about a week ago, so we are going to mark the date of Feb. 23rd, count forward 6 weeks to April 6th, and ready ourselves for planting into the ground during that week. Since the growing season in western Oregon is at least a month shorter than in the San Francisco Bay Area, timing is crucial. My garden of 2012 suffered a lot of damage because I planted just a week or two, too soon. Frost killed much of my garden, and I had to replant which, of course, meant double the costs. My garden wasn’t huge so it wasn’t a big loss. I wrote off the cost of that garden to a very well spent Pacific NW Gardening education…of which, I’m still trying to earn my degree!

Looking forward to these little beauties again!

In the meantime, I’m enjoying our mildly cold, rainy days, watching and listening to the amazingly poetic sounds of numerous types of birds in the tree canopies, and watching the green of the pastureland become more vibrant as everyday passes. This is beautiful country, God’s country, and I am so thankful to be living within it!! When I take the time to sit, look, watch, smell, and listen, I can feel Him, hear Him, see Him…my God, my Savior is here He created all of this, and it is good…it is very good!! Just listen to Benedict…he’ll tell ya!!

Category:

Buff Orpington, California, Cold weather, Frogs, Growing potatoes, Homesteading, Oregon, Polar Vortex, San Francisco Bay Area, Vegetable Garden

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Alien Invasion

Although we are living smack-dab in the middle of Sasquatch country….

….which by the way looks oddly familiar if you grew up with Star Wars….

Notice the resemblance.

…..I think the farm has been invaded by aliens!!

Walking along the backside of the shop, I happened to appear into a deep post-hole dug out this past fall. Since Tony and I (mostly Tony) do our the majority of our own construction on different projects around the farm, things are ordered in priority based on several things…weather, (although we’ve learned, if you don’t work in the rain…you don’t work) materials, funding, and manpower (mainly the availability of our son, Will.) But anyway…back to the alien…

…..peering into the deeply dug hole, I had to stop, and look again. “Wait..what is that?”

Is this a huge bug or something??

Gathering up my courage….I looked more closely down the deep hole…

IT’S A HUGE NEWT, OR SALAMANDER OR SOMETHING!!! And what’s that thing next to it??

Let me just mention this… I grew up hunting for earthworms, tracking down gopher snakes in an attempt to hold them, collecting tadpoles (though my parents wouldn’t let me keep them, “Hi Mom” :o), slogging through the muddy muck of salt water lagoons in an attempt to find something…anything alive within the water or mud. I still do this stuff! So, to say I was a bit…well I wouldn’t say frightened, but….frightened of this big, little critter is a testament to how “creepily huge” this salamander had grown. It seemed to stare at me, watching my every move. If I moved…it moved it’s head in my direction. My attention was drawn to the other dark “thing” sitting on the other side of the hole. Was it a decaying conifer cone…or was it an egg sack?? In my head, I heard a familiar tune….”Duh, Duh, Dummmmm!!”

With a little (very little) research, I think I have narrowed down the options of amphibians to this one, the Northwestern Salamander (Ambystoma gracile). Take a look at this simple webpage http://pages.uoregon.edu/titus/herp/gracile.html It even shows a photo of the egg sack, which I now totally believe is the other item within that hole. My main concern now for our little alien is that we aren’t supposed to get more rain for another two days…I’m afraid she and her egg sack might dry out. I may add a little water to the bottom of the hole today after I check on the little alien family. We’ll see how that goes!!!

Category:

Ambystoma gracile, Creeks in Oregon, Hiking in Oregon, Homesteading, moving to Oregon, Northwestern Salamander, Oregon, Post hole digging, Rain

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Water, Water, Everywhere Water

The past 3 – 4 weeks have been testament to one of the draws the Pacific Northwest has had on me for many years. I like rain, I like wind, I like temperatures that drop , and drop, and drop. I like snow that lasts a few days and then magically disappears. I like that there are distinct seasons, and most of the year, (with the exception of July – Sept.) you can either expect it to rain, or accept that it may rain. Did I say I liked the rain?? BTW, I won’t say anything about the summers and the incredibly blue Oregon sky….that’s a secret…shhhhhhh!!

A tree stump overtaken by the water running into the pond.

January was an inordinately dry month for most of Oregon…then February hit and the flood gates opened up…well snow first, then rain. Thankfully, actual flooding has been at a minimum, but the rivers, creeks, drainage areas, etc. are rushing to get to the Willamette River, to eventually get to the Columbia River, all in an effort to get to the ocean. We have a year round creek, pond, and seasonal creek from the pond run-off…they are currently really, REALLY running hard. I put together a little video of the rushing waters on our property…I was explaining things for Tony as he was out of town yesterday, so please forgive the narrative.

Unfortunately, my friends and family back in the SF Bay Area, and California in general, are suffering through a huge drought. Having lived most of my life in the Bay Area, living with drought conditions is part of the package. This year, however, is really severe. I’m praying for you all, and hoping that your spring time will be full of rain days. Also, the fire season is going to be really scary, big PRAYERS that His hand will protect you all.

Category:

California, Cold weather, Creeks in Oregon, Homesteading, moving to Oregon, Oregon, Penni the Great Dane, Rain, San Francisco Bay Area, Snow, Willamette River

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DANGER, DANGER, DANGER

UPDATE ON TODAY’S POST

Remember that robot from Lost in Space?

That’s what our rooster, Benedict, was calling…”DANGER, DANGER, DANGER!!”

In all seriousness though, he was calling out for a reason! As I looked out the window to see what all the commotion was about, I saw one of the adult hens, Don Pedro, was outside the enclosure. She was running with wings flapping toward an outside covered area. Then I saw it…a huge hawk inside the chicken yard, trying to escape. She was getting caught up on the chicken wire fencing that kind of bends in.

I ran outside with my Great Dane, Penni,…..

Penni the Great Dane! Protector of all things chicken!!

…..who caught site of the large bird now sitting on the ground outside of the enclosure. Penni ran at the hawk. Although beautiful, it is a natural enemy to my flock. The hawk had an easy exit and flew to a nearby tree. I didn’t see anything within her grasp.

It appeared everyone was inside…there certainly was enough noise coming from the house. I opened the door and started counting…1, 2, 3, 4…..with the one hiding outside all 8 adults were accounted for. Time for the Chicken Littles…1, 2, 3,….7…7…wait where’s #8? I counted again…still 7. Quickly exiting, I started looking for #8. This was deja vu to when we lost our little rooster, Gretchen (post from July 2013, A Sad Reality.) At the backside of the hen house, huddled in a corner was my little #8!! Was she alive? I opened the gate and she got up walking away from me…then I as called to her, she came back to me and let me pick her up. It was my little Austin Healey…the little chicken born lame! (See my previous post in December 2013 – Premature Chick Hatch)

Young Austin Healey

She cuddled her head under my chin and sat quietly, shaking. I tried to reassure her, as much as you can reassure a chicken, checked her over a bit, and not seeing anything, brought her back to the flock.

As i walked back to the house, I saw this…

My little Austin was injured by the hawk!

Oh nooo, she was injured! I went back and found a puncture hole through the skin layer of her chest, under her right wing. She was no longer bleeding, and I could see the lining under her skin. It seemed intact. My poor little Austin…but she is strong, she had to be to survive the beginning of her life. She will be fine, and a little smarter. Thank goodness for our rooster, Benedict, who always keeps his eye on the sky!!!

This guy is an AWESOME rooster!!

Category:

building a new home, Chicken House, Chickens, Dogs and Chickens, Great Dane, Hawk attack, Hawks, Homesteading, Penni the Great Dane

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We Thawed, They Moved

As brief, beautiful and fun as it was, it is good to see the vibrant green of our Oregon home once again. To read these words one may think that we have been trapped under ice and snow for weeks…well 5 days is a long time! {ducking as tomatoes are thrown by those in the midwest, etc. who have spent months in a deep freeze} There are reasons we moved to Oregon rather than, say, South Dakota…5 days of snow, then a thaw is apparently one of them.

The vibrant green of the moss on the trees is striking!

Expanding the view of the vibrant green moss on the oak trees.

The ice-rain layer covering the snow left some damage, and broken limbs…but thankfully most of what we are seeing is minor.

Minor branches broken and debris is most of the damage we have found so far!

We’re still hoping that the damage, if any, to our newly planted trees is minimal. Although we’re not too worried about the 300 Douglas Fir babies as they are built for Oregon winters, and the fruit / nut trees are also quite resiliant to the cold while they are dormant, the Giant Sequoias are a greater concern. So far, the tension and suppleness in their young branches seem okay…only time will tell (at least another month) if they will survive. Here is what they looked like in the snow/ice…

As we thawed, our band of cabin fever poultry showed great happiness in being able to stretch their legs. Literally, as soon as they noticed a path out of their cabana without snow those little chicken feet ran to the great outdoors. They were so happy!!

The “Chicken Littles” on the other hand had GREAT BIG changes awaiting them. With increasing bullying going on in the bigger chick brooder, it was time for them to move into the adult chicken house. Thursday night was the big transition. In preparation, I had cleaned the big house, and added a lower roost that afternoon. About an hour after dark….my son and I carried each one in, sitting them on the lower roost. The older chickens didn’t seem to really notice or care about what was going on below them…funny how darkness kind of lulls chickens into a daze of some sort. Since Little Austin Healey and Honda are 2 weeks younger than the oldest Chicken Little, I hooked up the heat lamp in their original brooder (within the big house), but left it open so that they and the others could hop in and out as they wanted.

First night in the hen house…it’s actually dark, except for the flash!

I worried, but they survived the night! I put up a barrier to keep them inside the house and cabana areas, but would also allow the older chickens out…well at least I figured the older chickens would find their way out, and they did. Benedict was hanging around the “Littles” and seemed to be accepting them quite well. I hadn’t seen much pecking going on by either hens or rooster so I was hopeful…

Since then they are struggling a bit with their courage…I find them all in the brooder area most of the time, although they know how to get in and out of it. I did see some pecking going on from the more dominant hen toward the young ones, but it was more attention getting than trying to harm…however, Benedict, our rooster, did go after one of the little suspected roosters in a much more “assertive” way. I scooped up that little baby and held him…..okay a little over the top, but he (hopefully she) closed his eyes and snuggled in…they are still my babies!! We’ve had stormy weather everyday since Thursday, and I’m hoping that once the older birds get out and about more, the younger ones will start becoming more adventurous, and grow their courage..the combs on about 3 of them sure are. NO ROOSTERS!!!