Monday, June 27, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
I Thought We Live In Tennessee
It has been so wet and cooler lately that I have not been able to get a lot done outside. My vegetable garden is too muddy to hoe. The cooler veggies are loving this but the warm weather (which is what we are supposed to be having) ones do not so much agree.
Thursday is supposed to be a bit warmer, but still cool, and dry. I am planning this day to get as much of the chicken processing done as possible. Those babies will soon be outgrowing their current living arrangements and need the big house ASAP.
I hope to have more pictures and updates for you soon.
Thursday is supposed to be a bit warmer, but still cool, and dry. I am planning this day to get as much of the chicken processing done as possible. Those babies will soon be outgrowing their current living arrangements and need the big house ASAP.
I hope to have more pictures and updates for you soon.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Painting On A Rainy Day
Yesterday was one of those Spring storm kind of days. The only things that got done outside was normal chores and getting fresh bedding put into Lou's house. His girls are laying a clutch but not sure they have any ideas about trying to hatch them. We shall see I guess.
Since it was an indoor day I decided to paint the bedroom. It was slow going because it is a darker color which called for two coats and I had no way of clearing the room so we were working around the furniture. There is a small section still to paint but it means moving the bed so I saved that part for today. It looks like a whole new room and I am very happy with the color.
The nasty storms moved through last night and brought the chilly weather behind it. We will have to cover some of the flowers outside tonight to protect them from frost. Hopefully this will be the end of any frost for the year.
Well, today is my son's birthday so I should finish up my painting so I can spend some time with the kiddos. Hope everyone has a fun and productive day. ; )
Since it was an indoor day I decided to paint the bedroom. It was slow going because it is a darker color which called for two coats and I had no way of clearing the room so we were working around the furniture. There is a small section still to paint but it means moving the bed so I saved that part for today. It looks like a whole new room and I am very happy with the color.
The nasty storms moved through last night and brought the chilly weather behind it. We will have to cover some of the flowers outside tonight to protect them from frost. Hopefully this will be the end of any frost for the year.
Well, today is my son's birthday so I should finish up my painting so I can spend some time with the kiddos. Hope everyone has a fun and productive day. ; )
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Spring Has Sprung
March is skipping along and Spring is here. The last couple of days it has been dry and in the 80's, link that with the kids being on Spring break and you have me getting a lot done outside. Blue mowed the grass for the first time this year on Sunday. Oh the smell of wild onions that permeates the air when we mow. I have started tilling the garden and preparing it for planting. Everything is really greening up and getting busy outside, where it has been sleepy and bare for what seems like forever.
Today I did the Spring cleaning on the little girls hen house. I had dug up the run yesterday for them so they did not mind being shut out of the house for a bit, they were busy taking baths in the freshly turned dirt. I love watching them take dirt baths. The kids helped me move all the "compost" that came out of the hen house to it's place of aging. I do the deep litter method in the winter so there was quite a bit to move.
Our baby chicks should arrive mid April and there is a lot to be done before they get here. I have a bunch of birds to process and looks like I will be doing it alone so it will take a bit of time. Then the house and run will need to be cleaned out, disinfected and set up for the new arrivals. It is so cool when we get the new babies, they are so sweet.
There is a very long list of projects to get done and I am excited it is time to get them going. I will be posting my to do list and the progress here, it helps serve to keep me accountable and on time. ; ) Well for now, back to it.
Today I did the Spring cleaning on the little girls hen house. I had dug up the run yesterday for them so they did not mind being shut out of the house for a bit, they were busy taking baths in the freshly turned dirt. I love watching them take dirt baths. The kids helped me move all the "compost" that came out of the hen house to it's place of aging. I do the deep litter method in the winter so there was quite a bit to move.
Our baby chicks should arrive mid April and there is a lot to be done before they get here. I have a bunch of birds to process and looks like I will be doing it alone so it will take a bit of time. Then the house and run will need to be cleaned out, disinfected and set up for the new arrivals. It is so cool when we get the new babies, they are so sweet.
There is a very long list of projects to get done and I am excited it is time to get them going. I will be posting my to do list and the progress here, it helps serve to keep me accountable and on time. ; ) Well for now, back to it.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Redbud Farm is Waking Up
Redbud buds
Mardi Gras Honeysuckle
The White Peonies 
Tulips
Crocus
Daffodils
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Catch up Post #1
It has been a while since I have written anything here, sorry about that. While things have been a bit on the crazy side and very busy, I really haven't made the time because it seems no one reads it anyway. However, that should not matter, I started this blog to record our journey and that is what I shall return to doing.
There is so much to catch up on.
I think we left off just after the floods. Boy are we in a different place now. It has been so very dry ever since the floods that my garden sort of resembles West Texas in August. I had such high hopes for my garden this year, but the weather, the rabbits, and life had other plans. I am still holding out hope for my fall garden though. See, ya just have to keep moving forward. ; )
Remember our monster birds? Yes, well, they were boys! We ended up with two roosters in our flock this time. I posted pics of them. Bully bird is no longer with us, he was mean and would not let the girls have a moment of peace. Pterodactyl boy has changed his name to Lou and he is going to stay with us. I know, that means we will be building yet another home and run!! Our plan is to put Lou up in his own pad to keep him away from the laying hens. Don't worry, we know he needs someone to look after so we are going to move Zelda, Fluffy and possibly Penguin in with him. Ohhhh, you have not met Penguin huh? Oh boy, that is a story unto itself. I will post about her a little later. I had said that I did not want to have a rooster on our property but it is not often you find a sweet one. Lou is such a gentleman and he is so good with the girls. It is fun watching him look after them, and the kids are happy he is hanging around.
There is so much to catch up on.
I think we left off just after the floods. Boy are we in a different place now. It has been so very dry ever since the floods that my garden sort of resembles West Texas in August. I had such high hopes for my garden this year, but the weather, the rabbits, and life had other plans. I am still holding out hope for my fall garden though. See, ya just have to keep moving forward. ; )
Remember our monster birds? Yes, well, they were boys! We ended up with two roosters in our flock this time. I posted pics of them. Bully bird is no longer with us, he was mean and would not let the girls have a moment of peace. Pterodactyl boy has changed his name to Lou and he is going to stay with us. I know, that means we will be building yet another home and run!! Our plan is to put Lou up in his own pad to keep him away from the laying hens. Don't worry, we know he needs someone to look after so we are going to move Zelda, Fluffy and possibly Penguin in with him. Ohhhh, you have not met Penguin huh? Oh boy, that is a story unto itself. I will post about her a little later. I had said that I did not want to have a rooster on our property but it is not often you find a sweet one. Lou is such a gentleman and he is so good with the girls. It is fun watching him look after them, and the kids are happy he is hanging around.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Flock 3 Pictures
Pterodactyl Boy
Bully Bird
Sweetness isn't she?
Our pretty baby girls.
Bully Bird, pure evil.
The Roos.
Bully
Pterodactyl
The girls
Little girl at roost.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Flooding in Middle Tennessee
Redbud Roost is still afloat. (lol bad joke.) We are all fine, we survived the rains and rising creeks, must be all the down the babies have shed. ; ) If you did not leave our property line you would not know today that a flood ever happened. Our hearts go out to all of those in our community, county and state that did not fare so well in the face of the 1000 year flood. Earlier today we drove through town and saw all of the people who live along the river with their entire lives out on the lawn. They were busy gutting the houses and trying to start to rebuild.
Flooding is devastating far beyond just material things, it is a very personal tragedy that happens on a very large scale. I was there once and I remember the defeated feeling of everything being destroyed with no defense against it, for yourself or your neighbors. The wonderful thing about this happening in Tennessee is that the people here are far more than just amazing. The stories you hear from other places that have gone through this have always been largely negative, but not here. The stories coming out of these waters are of kindness, caring, and selflessness. Every where you look people, even ones who are affected by the floods themselves, are reaching out to neighbors, strangers and anyone in need. The Volunteer State is being true to it's name in a big way. It will take a long time to rebuild the towns, the lives and the economies, but it will happen.... Tennessee people will make sure it does.
I am so very proud that we chose this state to raise our family. We are Blessed beyond words.
Flooding is devastating far beyond just material things, it is a very personal tragedy that happens on a very large scale. I was there once and I remember the defeated feeling of everything being destroyed with no defense against it, for yourself or your neighbors. The wonderful thing about this happening in Tennessee is that the people here are far more than just amazing. The stories you hear from other places that have gone through this have always been largely negative, but not here. The stories coming out of these waters are of kindness, caring, and selflessness. Every where you look people, even ones who are affected by the floods themselves, are reaching out to neighbors, strangers and anyone in need. The Volunteer State is being true to it's name in a big way. It will take a long time to rebuild the towns, the lives and the economies, but it will happen.... Tennessee people will make sure it does.
I am so very proud that we chose this state to raise our family. We are Blessed beyond words.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
Lots of changes going on and I am not just talking weather. The babies look dreadful because they have hit that stage where they look half naked while trying to grow in all those beautiful big girl feathers. There are some definite personalities in this group of girls! I don't think these will be as easily frightened as the last flock, while they are a bit high strung they are also fiercely inquisitive.
We combined the other two flocks. It was not pretty at first, at all. They have however calmed down and started dealing with each other so maybe they have the pecking order back under control. First we put bands on all the oldest girls legs, with the exception of Zelda and Fuzzy. Now when it comes time for the oldest to move out, we know who is who for sure. Zelda is still not happy about all the new kids in her space but she is hanging in there for us.
Well, there is lots to do while the rain is away so I will update soon with new pictures, until then...Have a great day!
We combined the other two flocks. It was not pretty at first, at all. They have however calmed down and started dealing with each other so maybe they have the pecking order back under control. First we put bands on all the oldest girls legs, with the exception of Zelda and Fuzzy. Now when it comes time for the oldest to move out, we know who is who for sure. Zelda is still not happy about all the new kids in her space but she is hanging in there for us.
Well, there is lots to do while the rain is away so I will update soon with new pictures, until then...Have a great day!
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Two weeks, wow!
The prior flocks have all grown at about the same rate, with the exception of a runt or maybe one or two that were just a bit larger like Zelda. This flock somehow lost the memo that they should all be about the same size. We have like two, maybe three chicks that are dinosaur birds, they are HUGE! They are all losing the fuzz and getting feathers at the same speed and everyone seems healthy and all are getting to the food just fine. I am not sure what happened but these girls look like they are on steroids.
I brought a couple of the babies in the house to take pictures so you could see the difference I am talking about. The sad part is that the big girl kept cowering down so she would not be the big kid. I noticed that all the big ones kind of do that but this one seems to do it the most.
Somehow the two that I brought inside turned into five. The kids kept bringing in "just one more."
This is Jewel, she is Sarah's buddy. She is cute.
Overall the girls are doing really well. They are however running out of room in the baby box so this weekend they will definitely be moving into the teen house. ; )
I brought a couple of the babies in the house to take pictures so you could see the difference I am talking about. The sad part is that the big girl kept cowering down so she would not be the big kid. I noticed that all the big ones kind of do that but this one seems to do it the most.
Somehow the two that I brought inside turned into five. The kids kept bringing in "just one more."
This is Jewel, she is Sarah's buddy. She is cute.
Overall the girls are doing really well. They are however running out of room in the baby box so this weekend they will definitely be moving into the teen house. ; )
Our Lovely New Flock
I feel absolutely guilty for not starting the new flock journal sooner. There have been a lot of events pulling my attention and time. Here we are now so let's talk birds. ; )
We picked up our babies at the extension office on April 7th. This is our third flock of 25 Black Sex-Link pullets.
We immediately got them home into what we like to call the baby box. We keep the girls in a tub on the enclosed back porch so they are protected and because it is easy to keep an eye on the antics and take care of them until we feel they are ready to move into the teen house.
We make sure they know where the water is...
No one really needs to show them where the food is, they are more like piggies than chickens...
They settled in quickly and everyone looks great...
Every night before bed the kids and I would check bottoms to make sure no one is getting a pasted bottom. We check them for up to a week, just to be safe. I don't know why we did not find this in prior flocks but this time we learned something new. One night while checking bottoms we found an interesting second spot. At first we were concerned there was a problem so we looked it up. Baby chicks have belly buttons! Cool huh? Well, if you think about it you would agree that it makes sense, right? This is where they are attached to the food source in the egg, just before hatching they suck up all the protein from the egg and that is what keeps them fortified for a day or so until they can get to where they are going.
Ok, I have to go but I will be posting the next article in a little while. Wait til you see what is going on with those girls now.
We picked up our babies at the extension office on April 7th. This is our third flock of 25 Black Sex-Link pullets.
We immediately got them home into what we like to call the baby box. We keep the girls in a tub on the enclosed back porch so they are protected and because it is easy to keep an eye on the antics and take care of them until we feel they are ready to move into the teen house.
We make sure they know where the water is...
No one really needs to show them where the food is, they are more like piggies than chickens...
They settled in quickly and everyone looks great...
Every night before bed the kids and I would check bottoms to make sure no one is getting a pasted bottom. We check them for up to a week, just to be safe. I don't know why we did not find this in prior flocks but this time we learned something new. One night while checking bottoms we found an interesting second spot. At first we were concerned there was a problem so we looked it up. Baby chicks have belly buttons! Cool huh? Well, if you think about it you would agree that it makes sense, right? This is where they are attached to the food source in the egg, just before hatching they suck up all the protein from the egg and that is what keeps them fortified for a day or so until they can get to where they are going.
Ok, I have to go but I will be posting the next article in a little while. Wait til you see what is going on with those girls now.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Spring Is In The Air
I forgot about this pot of Hen and chicks but they seem to be reviving, that was a nice surprise.
The boy coming back from chores.
Sunny on guard and ready to play.
New leaves. Makes one giddy after what seemed like a long winter.
Sarah overseeing the little girls.
The bud of a Redbud is awesome.
My entourage.
The Tulips are making their debut.
The first beautiful bloom of the year here on Redbud.
The boy coming back from chores.
Sunny on guard and ready to play.
New leaves. Makes one giddy after what seemed like a long winter.
Sarah overseeing the little girls.
The bud of a Redbud is awesome.
My entourage.
The Tulips are making their debut.
The first beautiful bloom of the year here on Redbud.
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