Too Old, Cripples

Comfort Food

2012-01-22T21:07:00.001-05:00

People, it just doesn't get any better than this.
Fried cabbage and noodles with a side of real polish sausage.
This is pure comfort.....well until the heartburn and gas kick in just before bedtime anyway.
The only thing lacking is an ice cold brew.........if only I liked beer. So I settled for an ice cold caffine free diet Pepsi instead. I made this for supper tonight and it was DELICIOUS !!!
And in honor of Paula Dean, I fried the cabbage in real butter.
My cardiologist would have a stroke and my regular Dr. would shake his head, but sometimes ya just gotta eat real comfort food. I have been craving real fried chicken for so long that I can't even remember what it tastes like. But this stuff was great and will hold me for a while.
So Warren, if you have never made this dish, give it a try.

My Darling Brother part 1

2012-01-19T21:48:00.000-05:00

Those of you with an older brother can probably relate to the following tale. And the older brothers will probably get a big laugh out of it too.

I had the misfortune of being born 17 months too late and became the second son in the family. And so my life was destined to be that of "John's little brother".   Even though I love my brother dearly, let's set the pattern to future events. My earliest memory of my big brother was of him helping me up on a kitchen chair and telling me to stick my tongue between the two metal cooling trays on our old refrigerators freezer. I had to stand on my tippy- toes to do it. So there I hung, screaming, while he laughed. My mother soon arrived to see what all of the commotion was about. She hurriedly grabbed the tea kettle off of the stove and dumped the overly warm water all over the freezer and me. This having failed she grabbed a butter knife and used it to pry my tongue loose while adding the warm water.
To this day I don't think that I ever convinced her that it was John's work and not my own stupid idea. He of course denied the whole thing.    I am told that shortly there after I stabbed a fork through his cheek. Sadly however, I have no memory of this and he has no scars to prove it.

My next memory was of walking around the side of the house and seeing my brother swinging his metal Tonka truck's blue car hauling trailer around his head on a wire. And just as I was coming around the corner it either got away from him or he let it loose. Either way the results were the same. The end of the wire ended up scratching the pupil of my left eye. Mom rushed me inside and laid me on her bed and applied cold washcloths until my dad came home from hunting. I remember him entering the room with his shotgun and two pheasants. He sat them down and came to see me. They rushed me to a hospital but there was nothing to be done. I had permanently lost the sight in that eye. Now I may have said things as a child to hurt his feelings, but I have never held him responsible for that accident. Both of these incidents happened when I was about three years old. Now lets skip ahead. Near the end of the school year when I was in the fourth grade I had another accident..

There was a gravel pit on the land adjoining the trailer park where we grew up. On this beautiful spring day John and I had taken a walk "out back" (as we called all of the surrounding lands) and on our way home we came through the "pit". Someone had taken out the end of the big hill. There we stood at it's edge looking straight down. About 15 feet below us was a small pile of loose gravel which had dislodged from the wall and it appeared to be about 3 ft. deep. John suggested that we should jump. I said "No Way" about the same time he said "You First" and pushed me over the edge.
Of course John told Mom and Dad I jumped before he could stop me.
The doctor said I must have landed toes first which caused my feet to stay deeply embedded while the rest of  me flopped face forward on the ground. There were no broken bones but everything in my feet and ankles was either torn or strained. I would walk again, but I spent the whole summer on crutches.

Just about one year from that date I again had another accident. John and I were fishing down to the river.
It being a windy day we weren't having much luck in getting our fishing lines to the spots we wanted them from the top of the railroad trestle. So John decided WE were going to walk out to the pier that held up the center of the span and fish from the footings. Now there was only one problem with this. I had just gotten a new pair of shoes. Not big deal to many, but I had extra wide feet with high insteps and the only shoes I could wear had to be special ordered and cost a fortune. Needless to say my parents were always telling me to take good care of them. Getting them wet was NOT an option. I never owned a pair of tennis shoes as a kid, it was either dress shoes or barefoot. So it had to be barefoot. But what about the glass? What glass? Why the generations of people fishing usually brought pop or beer and bait and the glass containers usually ended up broken on the rocks under the bridge. Well big brother had a solution to this. Just step where I step. SURE, the minute your foot steps in the water the silt gets riled up making it impossible to see anything in a 2 ft. diameter from where you step. Just come on and be careful. DANG IT......
There is no pain like glass cutting bone. It was the top of a broken Miracle Whip jar....stuck in the bottom of my foot. I have never seen so much blood without it spurting from a wound. We are a mile from home with one bike. My darling brother told me to ride home as he continued fishing. I had to climb up the gravel to the top of the trestle get on the bike and ...pedal ??? I made it from the bridge to the road when I saw dad's car coming. Luckily he decided to come check on us boys with the rest of the family.
John told the parents that he told me not to come in the water.
The cut was too deep to stitch closed and after debriding the wound of dirt, stones and grass without the help of any anesthetics or pain killers and putting in a few stitches to re-attach everything the doctor said it would heal and I would walk again. But I spent the whole summer on crutches... again.

Now we will dance ahead to another incident I well remember. When my brother turned twelve my Great- Uncle Joe gave him a Stevens single shot 12 gauge shotgun. He got to go hunting and I got to be his dog. One day I begged him to let me shoot it just once. Finally he decided to let me, but first he was going to show me how to load it. First he emptied the live shell out of the gun. He let me hold it while he showed me the workings of the gun, how to break it open and close it, how to shoulder it and then he showed me how to pull the hammer back to make it ready to fire. And admonished me to never pull the trigger without a shell in the gun as it could damage the firing pin. Now we will load it and let you shoot it. He was standing facing me and the gun was between us pointed safely away from either of us. He pulled out a shell and dropped it into the chamber. Then he put his hands over to mine as we snapped the gun closed. KaBOOM!!! Someone had forgotten to release the hammer before we loaded the gun. (I didn't know about this until MUCH later) My brother yelled "You tried to shoot me." I showed him that my fingers were nowhere near the trigger and his hand was still over mine, I couldn't have pulled the trigger.
The first words out of his mouth when we got home to our parents was how I tried to blow his head off.

I was in trouble, again, for doing just what my parents had always told me to do...."Listen to your brother and do what he says." All he had to say was, "But I told him NOT to" or "Who are you going to believe, me or HIM." Well for some reason they always believed him. I guess age has it's privileges.

It Just Ain't Right

2012-01-10T01:19:00.000-05:00

(Pardon my dirty windows)
Yes this IS Michigan and the thermometer is right,

38 degrees yesterday with a light breeze and 54 the day before, but with a strong cold wind. Today it was cooler, about 36 and the wind chill factor brought it down to 25 degrees. Tomorrow and the next day are supposed to be mid-40's. And this isn't our normal January thaw which we always look forward to.
This winter has been exceedingly mild so far and far from the norm. We've had very little snow and any accumulations only last a couple of days. We normally have measured snow by the foot at this time instead of just a couple of inches. What the heck is going on???

The poor rose bush hasn't even lost all of it's leaves yet.
They are still growing.

I am beginning to wonder now if there is something to that Aztec Calendar thing. Oh, I have known about it for the past 40 years......but when you are a kid you never think you will ever get THAT old. And believe me, with some of the stupid things I've done and survived, it was amazing that I ever reached my 20's !!!
But those are for another time, if ever. Anyhow at my advanced age and condition I am not so sure I want to know. I mean, sure, IF I knew that the Aztecs were right and the world was going to end by Dec.22 or whatever, I would borrow tons of money and max out all of the credit cards I could get my hands on and do everything on my bucket list before then. But then you would be counting down the days and minutes.
The stress would be horrifying.
No I think I will just stay away from the TV and News shows for this year and live out my simple life on the farm. Even though it's not really a farm or so simple either.

For instance, Wifey and I are still coughing and hacking. We have good days and bad, with the body aches and other flu symptoms, but the animals still have to be cared for. Yesterday we both were having a "good" day and decided that we had better clean out the rabbit pens and.....(horrifying).....the ducks pen !!! You know, I had completely forgotten just how nasty smelling ducks are, and how messy. The last time we had ducks I also had cheap slave labor ( yes Angie, I am referring to you ?) and children can be bribed or coerced into doing the nasty jobs.
Since I couldn't afford the first, it was usually the latter. And a strong teenage girl has nothing better to do anyway....right? Since my children have all grown and ~~run away from~~ I mean left home, I got stuck doing the job myself.
Wifey decided that the rabbit pens were a lot less smelly than she normally thinks they are, and snuck (or properly sneaked) off to do them after we got all set up to do the ducks pen. But before all of that we let the whole zoo out to enjoy a great winters day.....

First it was the goaty girls.

Then the ducks. They were so happy to get outside to flap around.

Then the guineas....

and the chickens, herded over by Peaches. She LOVES her chickens.

Until she just couldn't help herself from running through them.

And finally the turkeys, this is Pretty Boy Floyd.
One of the hens is sitting on 12 eggs at the moment
and the other is off running with her chicken friends.
Yes Warren, turkey sex.

What Makes YOU Smile ?

2012-01-02T02:04:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year from Fern-enstien. She has been pretty miserable for the last week because Wifey and I have been sick with the flu and she hasn't been getting her minimum daily requirement of human companionship or outdoor play-time.

Since I have been forced to stay indoors, I have had some free time to play on the computer, and happened to come across the "Jose Cuervo" page that let you design your own personal bottle label. I couldn't help but paste this photo on it. Now seriously, wouldn't you buy a bottle of Tequila with a label like that?
What a happy face.

And with the cold weather we have been having, Fern gets the shivers when she goes outside. She would probably enjoy a little shot anti-freeze before stepping outside in the snow and rain and wind. She has such a light coat compared to Peaches, who just loves this weather, so far.

Wifey and I both got sick a week ago last Friday, and today seems to be the turning point. We both feel like we just might survive this thing now. The coughing and sneezing have abated somewhat and the wheezing has lessened. Our sinuses aren't dripping as much and our throats and airways don't feel like they are on fire anymore. And the headaches are GONE. I guess the medicinal alcohol did it's job. Nothing like Old Dr. Dillon's Cure-all in the little brown jug. A hot tattie before bedtime really helps. For those of you not quite sure of what I am saying: 1 double shot of whiskey poured into a cup of steaming water. Sip that as hot as you can stand it, as fast as you can. Then jump into bed and cover up well. You will probably have to get up during the night to change your bedclothes because of all of the sweating you will be doing.

Neither one of us felt up to going to the doctor's office and sitting for hours waiting to be seen so we treated ourselves at home instead. If things continue to go well, maybe we will be able to celebrate Christmas next weekend. That is if our kids and grand-kids are over this stuff too. Oh Yeah, EVERYONE has it.

Well wishing you a very Happy New Year, stay well.

From a Different Perspective

2011-12-12T12:32:00.000-05:00

Life is full of ups and downs. And I seem to getting down a lot lately.
The other day my chiropractor said that I really need to spend a lot less time on the ground.
I told him, "But you miss so much with your eyes almost six feet above the ground."
I don't need the Discovery channel to see the grass growing or bugs moving around. My left leg has that all covered with it's keen ability to just not be there for me at times, which provides me with a close up viewing of sights I haven't noticed since I was a child. And when was the last time you looked straight up at the sky?

Being tall has it's disadvantages too, it's a lot farther to fall. And a lot of things just don't fit right. Clothes, chairs and sofas are too low, beds and blankets are too short, that bottom shelf at the store is impossible to reach, yes life is tough on the above average height group. Have you ever gotten into a short person's car to drive and forgot to move the seat back first? And speaking of cars, OMG !!! Are all car designers 4.5 ft. tall or what. Recently I went on a trip to Florida with friends and their car had molded head rests that may have been comfortable for a shorter person, but the tops hit me in the back of head forcing my head down at an un-natural angle when I sat back comfortably. Try that for 12 hrs. a day for 2 days straight.

I also worked for 30 years as a grain elevator employee. They are designed by double jointed midgets with a sick sense of humor, who are bound and determined to make tall people suffer for their shortness. I actually met a few of them. Oh, they are nice enough to your face, but don't turn your back on them. I really felt sorry for our maintenance crew, anybody who wasn't built like a dwarf didn't last long.

Anyway, last week we were watching our grandson Owen and he wanted to go outside and play with the goats. I happened to remember the camera so the following photos are the result of our adventure.

At 2.4 years of age he has mastered driving.

Fern anxiously awaiting her playmate.

Ugh Oh, this is a bad idea.

Ok, backing up on uneven ground wasn't smart either.

Another one bites the dust.

Okay, I'll go check on Dad.

A little HELP here please...

I ain't picking him up.....

Maybe he just need's a kiss.

So see, it ain't all bad, just takes a little different perspective.

Winter Fun ?

2011-12-04T11:57:00.001-05:00

Winter is here. Yesterday we spent all day cutting firewood andcleaning the stinky duck pen. PEW, they are as nasty as pigs.

We have beentrying to get everything ready for winter, but still are far behind.Haven't even got the storm windows on yet.

Fern's HAPPY face.

The goaty girlsare fascinated with the snow. Peaches has a nice thick coat and isn'tbothered too much by the cold, but Fern has a very thin coat and doesa lot of shivering out in the cold wind. I guess I will have to makeher a blanket coat to use when she is outside.

It was niceenough yesterday to let all of the animals out, there were patches ofgrass for them to feed in. Since the leaves have fallen from thetrees the girls have been eating grass too. The ducks were alsoliking the snow for a little while but then their feet must have gotcold and they all went back inside. The poor turkeys were confusedand trying to mate. Evidently they can't tell the beginning of winterfrom the end. The terrorists (our Guineas) were everywhere and forthe first time since the young ones were born, didn't bother theother animals. They also went in last night without any coaxing,another first. It normally takes at least half an hour of chasing toget them inside, and thats not until it gets dark. Last night theywent in while it was still light out. We didn't even have to chasethe chickens inside, so everyone must have been looking forward tothe warmth of the coop. I know we were more than ready to get in outof the cold.

Two weeks ago Wifey had a little accident with the golf cart andsprained her knee. She was going too fast and turned too tight andfell off the cart. It is doing better now, but for a few days all shecould do was hobble from her chair to the bathroom and back. I on theother hand had been bragging that it had been a long time since I hadfallen. So Monday I fell four times, twice my leg gave out, then Iforgot about the trailer hitch on the truck sticking out so far andthen got my finger caught in the collar of a hungry goat. I wastrying to hold the goats back so Wifey could pour feed into their pan.Peaches may be small but she is VERY powerful. Her Boer goat lineageinsures that all 80 pounds of her is all muscle. She twisted aroundso fast twice and was pulling so hard that I thought for sure she hadbroken my finger. She knocked me off my feet and Wifey was holleringthat I was choking her. My poor finger was twisted in that collar sotight that Lynn had to undo the collar to get us free from oneanother. It is still swollen and sore.

Note to self: NEVER getbetween a goat and her food. And keep your fingers out of the collar.

Vanity ?

2011-11-13T10:10:00.001-05:00

Ever since I saw our family coat-of-arms at my grandfather's house as a child I have been enamored with heraldry and the pride of my Irish heritage. As I got older and interested in genealogy and family history I have found that the first Dillon in Ireland had this device on his shield.

He was a Norman nobleman and it is easy to see how De Lion was Anglicize into Dillon. He fought for the English crown and was granted lands and titles in their war against Ireland. All of his descendants bore some form of this device on their shields. The last recorded Coat of Arms was the one in the first picture.
Through my limited studies I have yet to find proof of our lineage to this family name, but I am still trying.
Lesser sons, wives and daughters fared poorly in being kept tract of in records and history.

Now for another childhood fantasy....tattoos. My grandfather sported a blurry faded tattoo on his forearm of a hoola girl. A permanent reminder of too many beers at a local fair and an Irishman's willingness to take any dare. Although he regretted getting it, I liked it. And have wanted one as long as I can remember.

Last week on a trip to visit our youngest daughter in Florida we were taken to a local attraction I can best describe as a tourist trap, my daughter showed us a shop where she got her last tattoo. Wifey made the mistake of asking if I wanted one. I almost choked on my immediate reply of "you know I do". So she told me to go pick one out. I couldn't believe it was happening. I went inside with a dragon in mind, but after looking through the artwork books I found a beautiful colorized Grey Wolf. I found the perfect one. Until my daughter took me to see the tattoo she wanted next. On the wall behind a display book was what I finally got. A small simple black rampant lion. The type that was used on ancient shields. When I asked the price which was reasonable, I was also told that it would be larger than depicted which was fine with me, I am kind of a large guy anyway. Anyway I was told to come back in a half hour.

So I went outside and hung around for a while.

My friend's wife was upset that I would get my body marked so. I told her it was no different than women wearing make-up or coloring their hair. To which she argued that those were temporary, so I said having your ears pierced then. And she said that she could let them grow shut, to which I answered it would still leave a mark. And tattoos can be removed now with just a cream. However she still didn't see why I would do it. So I told her that where I was having it put no one would see it unless I chose to show it off.
Didn't matter. Oh well, you can't please everyone, so I pleased myself.

The artist changed the style somewhat from the original depiction which made it even more pleasing to me.
And even shaded it instead of filling it all black, which I liked even better. I told her I might just come back each time I visit until I get a whole coat-of-arms done.

"Say Goodnight Gracie"

2011-10-24T22:57:00.000-04:00

We got Grace as a pre-owned cat from a girl who was going to college and could no longer care for her. She had gotten her as a used cat about 4 years earlier. We had Grace in our lives for 17 years. That makes her at least 21 years old that we know of and probably a year or three older. Grace was neutered before we got her but we were told she raised many litters of kittens. Gracie was my cat from the time she arrived here and today was the last day of her life. She died sleeping in the warm sunshine with all of the dignity she deserved.
For the past 2 years, age had finally caught up to poor old Gracie-Girl. She slept more and did less. No longer were there her shared gifts of partially eaten meals of birds and mice underfoot on the back doorstep. The birds could finally eat at the bird feeder in peace. Last winter she started having seizures, she stopped climbing into my lap to be petted and sleeping in my bed, and late in the spring she started loosing bladder control when she had them. Grace seemed embarrassed by her seizures.

Grace then started staying outside except for meal time. It got to be a chore to find her and get her to come in during the night or in the rain. Many late nights were spent calling and looking for her. Her hearing and eyesight were going. She even started using the pet door to sneak outside at night. She had lost weight and was getting rather scruffy because she could no longer clean herself thoroughly.

Last night she again went outside even though the temperature was near freezing. This morning I saw her laying in the sunshine near the asparagus patch not far from the pine tree the chickens roost in. As the goaty girls neared she woke up and hissed at Fern when she got too close, although she did accept a goaty kiss from both goat girls.

A couple of hours later I again went out to check on her and she was dead.
So in the words used by George Burns to close his TV show:
"Say Goodnight Gracie...."

Terrorists on the Farm

2011-10-08T15:10:00.000-04:00

Yes folks, it is a sad day when you have a terrorist group take over your farm.
(the above photo I took from my favorite comedian/ventriloquist's site http://www.jeffdunham.com/)
It started out as a small insurrection and built it's self into a full blown terrorist cell.
At first they just terrorized the chickens, turkeys and guineas that I hatched in the incubator and raised together, now they have taken over the whole farm. The chicken coop is their base camp, and the large tree outside the run is their minaret. I am not sure if they are Muslims or not but each evening at sundown they perch there and loudly announce to the world their intentions of taking over.

This is the leader of the group, Petey aka: "Saddam".
He systematically hunted down the previous leaders and attacked them viciously.

He started out with the last unsuccessful coup leader, Elvis, and beat him soundly with the remainder of his cell cheering him on.

Next it was Jeffrey's turn. He put up more of a fight and "Saddam's" partner....

Brucie aka: "Osama Bin Guinea" charged in to help. After they had cornered him, the rest of the group joined in defeathering his tail until I finally came to his rescue.
And then they took on the Alfa Rooster....

....BIG RED !!!
Sadly I didn't get there in time for the fight. We were in the orchard picking apples when it started....

and by the time I got there it was mostly over. They had chased him into our "garage tent" and after I booted out all of the terrorists, I found poor Red all tied up in the rope to raise the back door. It was pity-full. He was so twisted in the cord that he was pretty much immobilized. After I calmed him down, I untied him and he was totally willing for me to do so. No longer the proud rooster that he was.

After the roosters had all been subdued, the terrorists went to work on our big meat turkeys.

Now Thanksgiving, our tom, is a pretty laid back kind of guy. However when Saddam and his group went after his girlfriend Christmas, all hell broke loose. That huge half waddling, half flying 40 pound ball of feathered fury chased them all off and kept chasing them for over an hour. He kept a vigilant eye on them after that.

Things have cooled down a little for now....

This is NOT a terrorist act, rather thee other way around. Our heritage Spanish turkeys are intrigued with poor old Bear, I don't know if they think he is a turkey or what, but they follow him around and here he stopped abruptly and they ran into him, he jumped and they got scared and took off.

But the terrorists are watching everyone....

But I'm not afraid !!!!

DANG GOATS

2011-09-01T01:50:00.000-04:00

My goats must be entering puberty.
How else can I explain the sudden change from docile loving Fern, into the goat from Hell?

Monday morning while Wifey took care of the poultry, I took the goaty girls out for their usual golf cart ride and morning feeding. When they finished I put them in their day pen. Then I left to cut some tree branches for them and filled their water bucket. Done with the morning chores, I went back to the house to take my morning pills and get some breakfast.

I got as far as my pill container when suddenly I heard a commotion outside and the goaty girls calling for me. I rushed to the kitchen window and sure enough they were standing on the golf cart, looking at me.....and laughing !!! I swear to God, if goats could laugh, that was what they were doing !!!

So I went back outside to put them back in the pen and look for their escape route. While I walked the perimiter of the pen they stared out at me cooly and continued their laughter. I found only one possible weak spot at the bottom of the fence between two pine trees where they had made a dust bath and there was a tiny gap between the fence and ground. So I went to get a stake and hammer to secure it with. Before I got halfway to the work shed, Fern was on the back of the cart with me.!! I made a U turn and put her back in the pen, broke a couple of forked sticks, and pounded them into the ground, securing the bottom of the fence. I went back to the workshed, grabbed my large hammer, some stakes and wire, then turned around to see both goats watching me from the doorway!!

Now I was getting pisssed off...I grabbed a cheap fence post for an old flowerbed we had and some wire too...Dang goats aren't getting out again !!!! I got the goat girls back on the cart and headed for the pen. As I got close I could see that my previous idea of where they were getting out was dead wrong.

The fence from a tree to the gate was in ruin. The fencepost in between was bent to the ground and the staples holding the fence to the tree had pulled out. Some of the welds between the wires of the stock fence had broken. It looked like a bull ran through it, not something my little goats did. I was devistated....at first. Then I got MAD.

I went back to she tool shed for more supplies, a posthole digger, 8 ft. cedar post, cement and LONGER fence staples. (I should have added a chain-saw to the list.) Hours later, after chopping though uncountable tree roots, saying many choice words and cussing my goats out under my breath, I finally got the post in the ground and cemented in. Now it was time to tackle the fence, which had shrunk since getting pulled away from the tree. When I had originally put up the fence just a few weeks ago, it was loose and a little floppy, now I needed to stretch it 2 inches to reach the tree. I am sure somewhere there is an engineer who can explain the reason for this phenominon, but not me. So I grabbed a cheap ratcheting tie down strap, passed it through the fence and around the tree and started tightening it....the 1 inch strap broke. Okay, that one had sat in the back of my truck for a while, but I had a new one. Find it and try again. The thin metal ratchet stop bent and it released the pressure. (Have I ever told you about my great-great-great Uncle Murphy? He's the guy they named all of those Laws after, and the proginator of our Black Irish Luck.) Anyway I tied the two straps together to make one and finally got the fence stapled to the tree and then the new post. Now to track down them dang goats.

I found them browsing around the grape trees. What....you have never seen a grape tree??? We have this Concord Grape vine that is impossible to kill. I have tried digging it out, burning it out and even salted the ground. It thrived on a Weed Killer diet one summer years ago. I even built a chicken run around it for a few years until it pulled the fence down.Why kill it you ask? Because we hardly ever get a grape from it. Whatever the beetles don't eat in the spring, the birds eat in the fall. And the vines love to climb trees and completly cover them, when this happens it becomes a grape tree. Once they pulled down a 30-40 ft. maple. Anyhow the goats were feasting on tree, grape and raspberry leaves. Oh yeah, the raspberry plants must have a symbiotic relationship with the grape vines and where one grows so does the other, bigger and better than anywhere else. I just dare anyone to try and plant either one anywhere else on this five acre sand lot and try to get it to grow, ain't gonna happen, I know, I have tried for years. WHAT....oh yeah...the goats !!

Okay, so I get the goats back into the pen, pick up my implements of construction and head for the tool shed and a well deserved rest. I got 40 ft. before Fern ran past me......

Now you can ask anyone who really knows me, I have a great deal of patience. Most of the time, anyway. But thoughts of my shotgun and blood on the ground flashed through my head accompanied, with the sound of goat laughter.....

I shook it off. Returned Miss Fern to her crying sibling in the pen, and BACKED away this time. I wanted to see how she was getting out.... I didn't have to wait long. She went to the back of the pen and ran towards the front and leapt up, got her front feet about 2/3 rd's of the way up the fence, replaced them with her hind feet, and sailed over the five foot tall fence !!!!!!!!

I sat amazed and dumbfounded....

Fern: "Did you see me dad? Huh. Huh. Did you see what I can do?

Me: "Yes Ferny-Fern, you are such a smart goaty girl."

Fern: "Thanks for tightening up the fence, it adds more spring to my jump."

Me: "Yes dear-heart, I noticed how high you flew over the fence. Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?"

Fern: (more goat laughter) "Ha, I could do that all day long, it was fun. You really worry to much you know."

Me: "Yes I am sure it was. It's all fun and games until somebody breaks a leg. Let's go get your sister before she cry's herself sick."

Fern: "Peaches is NOT my sister!!"

Me: "I know, but she thinks she is. Let's not tell her any different."

Fern: "This is going to cost you ya know."

Me: "Oh, I sort of figured it would."

I put the girls in the Pallet Palace for the night, went into the house, told Wifey about the situation, finally took my medication and took a nap.

Ever since, the goats have been re-assigned to the dog pen. It's the same height as their pen, but so far neither has escaped it.

Now I have to figure out a way to goat proof their pen. Any ideas?

BUGS

2011-08-25T11:43:00.000-04:00

My grandson Owen has a great dislike of insects and his powerful child's eyesight can spot the tiniest of them. His normal response is to holler out "BUG" which is the signal for us grandparents to search it out with our failing aged eyesight. When we can't spot it, we say "where I don't see a bug" to which he replies, "There it is.!!!"

Fern ate it !!!

Clean-up on isle 9. "Gramma Fern needs a wipe" !!!!

Shhhh.....They can't see us in here...FERN leave my hat alone!!!

Peaches and the back 40.

The girls new pen. Made from mostly recycled materials including a very large doghouse and some fencing from my son's old dog pen.

........Fern sees a bug....

,,,,,,it's Owen.!! Checking out the lavish space inside the dog er... GOAT house. Plenty of room for both girls to sleep in.

Bugs. That was Owen's response to his first introduction to newborn quail. And the name has stuck, Wifey and I now commonly refer to them as "the bugs" to quickly identify the difference from the other chicks we are brooding on the back porch. We have not lost a single "bug" since my last post and the cats have had to resort to eating only cat food.

Silkies.

A mixed batch of chicks from our hen's eggs. Ten of which have already found a new home when I sold them to a neighbor. Life on the farm is good. Lots of fun....especially with Owen's BUG games.

THE END

Little Chicks = Big Problems

2011-08-04T11:44:00.000-04:00

............Fresh from the shell...chicken on the right and quail on the left.
If only I knew then what I know now, I would never have bought the parents of the quail.
Who'd a thunk these tiny chicks could be so much trouble????
They are better escape artists than the great Harry Houdini.
And faster than The Road-Runner !!!

They have been escaping from my incubator either from the vent in the rear (which is now screened over) or leap from the door when we open the cabinet. Either way means a injured chick which eventually expires.
I keep the incubator on the back porch on a stand so I can keep a close eye on it. Sadly, so do my cats. Any chick that survives the fall and is not immediately found by me or Wifey doesn't last long. I also keep my brood boxes on the porch. And my dang cats figured out how to get into the one I had for the quail chicks. (second generation of the Quail box as they escaped from the first through tiny vent holes that I swore they couldn't fit through)

So now it's back to the drawing board to come up with a new solution. (I think I need to get an ACME catalog from Wile E. Coyote). Another problem is that regular feeders and waterers are too high for the chicks to use. So jar lids must suffice and that means constatly filling them. Especially the water in this heat wave.

My little quail hen has been laying an egg almost every day since we bought her, it is too bad that she has NO nesting instinct ( I was warned when I bought her that they have been bred in captivity so long that the nesting instinct was gone). So far I have not raised a single quail chick.
But the cats are well fed.

New Additions

2011-07-06T10:56:00.000-04:00

Like everyone else, we have been busy here. With all of the egg incubating, yard work, gardening, household chores, animal care and building a goat pen we decided that we still had too much free time.

So we purchased a pair of double breasted bronze turkeys to raise as meat. Of course we called them Thanksgiving and Christmas.

And while we were at it we just had to get this pair of Silkies.

And I just couldn't pass up this baby Flemish Giant doe, she will help increase the size of my meat rabbits.

Hey..... let's raise some quail too.

These 3 are Black Spanish turkeys. After hatching the eggs for a friend, he kindly gave these to me.
We hope that we can raise some of this heritage breed and sell the extra chicks.

Are Guineas possible to tame? Since our Guineas only hatched 6 eggs and only 2 have survived, we bought 3 day old chicks and they are WILD. I was hoping to be able to tame them by hand raising them, but so far it doesn't seem possible. The turkey chicks practicly run to my hand and are content to be held and petted, these are just the opposite.

For some reason it looks like Fern is chewing grandson Owen's fingers.

Our dog Bear has finally been accepted by Peaches but Fern just tolerates him.

Again with the fingers, What does Fern find so facinating about Owen's dirty little hands?

Actually she is looking to be petted and nuzzling his hand off of the steering bar. Owen is her favorite human playmate and they share the sandbox.

Well the animals are calling....guess I will post again when I have a minute to spare....Winter maybe???

A Guinea Kind of Father's Day

2011-06-21T17:38:00.000-04:00

Those of you that have these crazy critters will know of what I speak.

I purchased these 2 males and one female last year and have had them penned up all winter and finally this spring let them loose hoping that they would return to the coop at night. Well it worked out better than I expected. The female even sat on a clutch of about 20 eggs which hatched out 4 chicks and she excepted 2 more from the incubator. So now I have one very protective hen with a group of unruly keets. Both males try their best to help teach the young, but they cannot seem to get them to understand how to get back into the coop.

They get a good start at it but then the keets just go crazy, jumping off the ramp or running underneath it. If the parents go inside, the little buggers squeeze through the chicken wire and escape the confines of the pen. This really drives the adults nuts. (The chickens gather to watch the festivities and get a chance to see the babies close up.) They will attack anything that gets close to the fence, which makes herding the babies back in a dangerous venture for them and me. I have felt mom's wrath 3 times already for being a good samaritan and bare the scratches and bite marks to prove it on my hands, face and head.

The males get vocal and make feint charges but stop short of attacking, (we have gotten pretty close over the last month) and look at her like she's crazy after her attacks. They even squawk at her as if to warn her not to bite the hand that feeds her, and can't she see I am only helping.

After the reunion all is right with the world....until next time or when it is time to get them in for the night!

My daughter Angie was sick, but Eric brought Aden & Ethan over.

They also brought over Eric's prototype of his recumbent bike for two. He made the rear pedals adjustable so Aden could ride too.

Aden wanted to show off her steering abilities so her and dad switched places. Eric was a little uncomfortable in back but managed to pedal them around.

Ethan wanted to show off his first missing tooth. He pulled it out all by himself.

We let the goat girls out to browse in the orchard...

Fern noticed the kindling bin and dedided to climb it to try to reach some leaves.

Peaches had to join the fun.

Finally the day was ending and it was time to bed the animals down and go in for a much deserved rest.....

But WAIT..........

what was that????????????

For ME ???

No Abbey, these are going to the farmers market for sale. 36 of the 40 eggs from my hens hatched in the incubator. I made an improvised brooder and added a heat lamp. But the peeping noise on the porch was driving the cats and dogs crazy, everyone wanted to see the cute chicks. My geriatric cat even left the back steps to sleep next to them. Even though I didn't condone her actions then, I hope that she had pleasant dreams from her younger, bird nest raiding days.

Say goodnight Gracie....

Bunny Nest

2011-06-13T16:20:00.000-04:00

We had another hatching yesteraday, 1 pheasant and 1 guinea from the incubator.
Two guineas from our hen who still has 14 more eggs to hatch.
And these seven bunnies, well six, one died.

Mom is doing well and seems to be caring for her litter.

Proud daddy guinea is so besides himself that he isn't sure wether to stay inside with mom & kids or run outside and tell all of the neighbors about it.

The goat girls where very happy to have a nice sunny morning that allowed them to get a ride out to the orchard to browse, in their favorite toy.

They take turns trying to be a hood ornament.

today Peaches was content to stay close....

Fern however wandered afar in her favorite pastime....trimming trees.

On the ride back, Fern got very emotional and took turns kissing Wifey and me.

Then they got penned up for the day while wifey and I do chores. Tonight they will again go for a romp in the orchard before getting put in for the night.

Our daily goat ritual is a favorite time of day for us. So far we have had no problems with the girls trying to excape their confines. Something that has worries us both as we have read on other blogs the problems that some goats can be. Oh I am not saying that they are angels. They are still very mischievious/curious creatures. But so far they haven't problematic. Well I've done it now, I've opened my big mouth, let's see what my next blog brings. I better go knock on all of the wood I can find. NOW

There and Gone - Empty Nest Syndrome

2011-06-11T13:02:00.001-04:00

I first met Tony a couple of years ago when he stopped to buy eggs and we have been cultivating a friendship ever since. This elderly man with a quick smile, twinkling eyes and heavy middle European accent reminded me of my Great Uncle Joe and I somehow knew we were going to be friends.

He lives about a mile and a quarter down the road from me on a few acres that can best be described as a whole in the pine woods. Until just a couple of years ago when he installed a mailbox and cleared some trees, it was a home I hadn't known existed.

Tony escaped communist Romania when he was in his early 20's. He made his way to America and spent most of his life in the Detroit area. Years ago he purchased this home as his future retirement residence while visiting friends in the area and has been working on it ever since. A few years ago he did retire and now lives here while his wife continues to work in Detroit and comes up on the weekends.

Tony has raised quite a managerie of animals, mostly birds, and I love to visit him and learn from him.
One day he mentioned that he had this incubator that wasn't working at his house in Detroit (he said his dog had chewed the wires on it) and I told him that if he ever brought it up here I would see if I could repair it for him. Then one day he shows up with it in the back of his pick-up and says here it is, but I don't have room for it so it is yours until I build a new house and shed to put it in. (about 2 years from now).

Then he told me if I needed parts for it he would buy them and to get it working and we would go into the chick selling business together ( I would hatch them and he would sell them). Well I could see right away that there were parts missing even though I knew nothing about incubators. Luckily I found the manufacturer on-line and he sent for the missing parts. Then he told me he had bought some pheasant eggs to hatch. Well now I had to scramble to learn how this machine operated and then he had to order more parts. By the time I got it up and running the eggs were about to the end of their time for use as hatching. In the mean time he had placed 3 dozen of the eggs under a couple of chickens who were sitting on their own eggs which he thought were bad and tossed them. So I put the remaining dozen in the incubator along with 40 of my chickens eggs. And the waiting and worrying began. Was I doing this right??
A week later he asked if I still had room as a friend of is had some eggs he wanted hatched. I said sure, the following week he brought his friend and the eggs over, an assortment of turkey, guinea, and chicken eggs (most were Banteys). What a mess, the eggs were muddy and dung covered. NOT what you want to try incubating. But I took them and cleaned them up anyway (something you are NOT supposed to do) and loadede them into the incubator.
He also brought me some of his other pheasant eggs because the hen stopped sitting on them and he had no idea if they were still good or not, but I tossed them in too.

Note the very tiny hole.

Those are the ones hatching right now.
The first six hatched with no problem but the next two required my intervention. After many hours of attempting to peck out of the extremely tough eggs I felt I had to help them. The rubbery inner membrane was just too tough for them and fluids in the egg had dried and hardened around their esxcape holes and glued the chick to the membrane. So very carefully I removed some pieces of shell with a pair of forceps and then tore the membrane and peeled it from the chick. Shortly after releasing their heads, the chicks escaped from their shells and exhaustedly waited to dry.

Tony came today and took last nights hatch of five, making a total of ten Chinese Ringnecked Pheasants that have hatched so far. He is placing them under the hen that also hatched eight of the eggs. He hopes to domesticate them more by raising them with the chickens.

I am missing them already, especially the two that I "delivered". But I am also excited to see how the rest of the eggs turn out.

So in the next 2 weeks I should have quite a lot of experience in incubating and hatching.

Weather or NOT

2011-05-24T12:28:00.000-04:00

A nice swarm of mosquitoes caused by our local weather - heat and rain.
But I hope that cooler temps may slow down the build up of our local population.

Current weather

52°F Cloudy
High 58°
Low 40°
Humidity 82%

Five-day forecast

Tomorrow
Showers
Hi: 65°

Lo: 51°

May 25 Thursday
Showers
Hi: 55°

Lo: 44°

May 26 Friday
Showers
Hi: 57°

Lo: 45°

May 27 Saturday
Showers
Hi: 64°

Lo: 48°

May 28 Sunday
Showers

Hi: 68°

Lo: 48°

May 29 Monday
Showers

The winds and rain have stopped our county's efforts at mosquito abatement, however I did get them to come out and fog my property. For all of the good it did I might as well have not bothered. When they showed up there was hardly a mosquito to be seen. I think they had tapped the phone line. But the next day they were back with a vengeance.

And they brought their friends the black-flies, midges and other biting bugs. I just doesn't pay to tick them off !!! And speaking of OFF....it doesn't work either...

I guess that before I go outside today I had better load up the shotgun, maybe I will have better luck shooting them. But first I had better check with the DNR and see if I need a special license.

But I probably better just get used to this....

....as our gardens are only half planted and when the rain finally quits and the ground dries enough we will have to venture out and finish them.

Dancing Goat Girls

2011-05-12T14:24:00.000-04:00

We have been goat parents for 2 weeks now and just love to watch the antics provided by these two.

When we let them out in the morning they run around the yard in circles and then jump on the picnic table and dance around for a few minutes before repeating the perfomance.

It is very difficult to get a good picture of this performance and even the dismounts just don't turn out looking quite right. They don't just dance on the picnic table....

my golf cart also gets abused by their antics.

And now they have taken to riding on it with us too.

Even Wifey's little rock garden gets a workout.

But things are settling down to a routine, the fight is over and Peaches now not only accepts her bottle but even asks for it in her own little way, she will come up to Wifey and start sucking on her fingers.

She is now drinking 8 - 10 oz. per feeding and is a regular little eating machine. She is less dependant on Fern for moral support and doesn't mind going off on her own to graze.

Fern on the other hand is both jealous and concieted. She always has to be the center of attention and has no qualms about pushing poor little Peaches around to get it. But she is a very lovable goat, who just happens to crave attention. She is also as stuborn as a mule. And for the last few days has started nipping us. That will have to stop.

We had a BBQ party for my youngest daughter who came home from Florida for a short visit. The goat girls were the hit of the party. My sister's 3 little grandsons who were at first scared of them, soon started feeding Fern from their plates ( note to self : DO NOT ALLOW DORITOS AT ANY FAMILY FUNCTIONS HELD HERE ). Fern is now a full blown DORITOS junkie and will stop at NOTHING to get them. She also has a strange attraction for BUDWEISER and I am afraid that if she ever gets a sample will indeed become an alcoholic immediatly.

I can see it all now: Fern laying on her sloppy hay couch, scratching her beerbelly and bellowing at Peaches to go out and get a better job to support her ever increasing Bud and Doritos habit. Not a prettry sight.

Maybe that is why she is nipping us.....Dorito Withdrawl

Let the Fighting Begin

2011-05-01T10:07:00.000-04:00

In this corner weighing just a few pounds, is Peaches the current champion.
I never knew that you could cross a goat with a mule, but here she is.
Her opponnents again are 2 humans weighing..........just never you mind !!!

The referee is giving last minute instructions.......

and called in an assistant to monitor unorthodox holds.

It looks like the champ is going down ..............

But no, after the initial pinning she kicks out and repells the bottle !!!
For the next three rounds she continued her defense against the brutal
intrusion of the nipple and repelled all attemps to force milk into her system.

The winer and still champion....Peaches

New Kids on the Farm

2011-04-29T23:14:00.000-04:00

Meet Peaches and Fern. We purchased them Wednesday morning and haven't had a moments rest since.

Fern is a 7 week old Toggenburg/Saanen cross.
Note Bear in the background.

Peaches is a 2 week old Boer/Saanen cross.

Fern thinks the world is hers to rule and acts the spoiled Princess role.
She is very smart and inquisitive. She also loves to eat paper and plastic and has eyesight to rival an eagle.

Peaches is the traumatized baby, she had been de-budded the night

before we bought her, and had her last meal from mom that morning.

We cannot get her to feed from a bottle. We have tried everything

we can think of and have seeked help from the internet. She eats hay

well enough and nibbles on Goat Chow and grass, but we know she

needs goat milk too. Any suggestions?

For now we are raising them in the Pallet Palace, today we transferred the rabbits to our garage storage area. Fern pointedly ignores us when we enter this door, but cries pittiously when we leave. It really is heartwrenching and she carries on for up to 20 minutes. This troubles poor old Bear who thinks he is their mother (much to the goats dismay) and tries to get in to them. But the goats don't trust my big black male dog yet. Neither does my wife !!!

Garage in a Box

2011-04-24T13:43:00.000-04:00

Last fall we purchased a 12' x 20' x 8' plastc canvas garage from TSC to store our lawn and garden equipment in.

It was hurridly constructed just before the first snowfall on a somewhat level piece of ground and anchored down in sand so I was worried that it wouldn't survive the winter and spring winds.

As winter starrted I was worried about the buildup of snow on the roof but I needed to remove it only a couple of times over the winter. The slick plastic and wind took care of most of it and the sun on the dark color took care of the rest. Only a couple of ice storms caused me to worry enough to bother cleaning it off with a broom from the inside, a couple of taps to loosen it up and it slid right off. The white interior made it plenty light enough inside and I was surprised at how warm it was inside out of the elements. The tubular steel frame gave enough to withstand the 60-70 mph winds and somehow the four 30" tie down auger/spikes held it all down in the sand..

The ratchet down straps were nice too.

What really surprised me was that the plastic zippers for the doors on each end held up to all of that abuse. My neighbor has had one of these up for the last 8 years and the only thing he has done to it was to add a vent kit to it. He says they retain dampness inside if you don't. They make a few different models of these Garage-In-A-Box things and one even has windows. We are planing on moving ours this summer and setting it on a foudation. So all in all I think it was well worth the $250 sale price.

My old Assistant Cub Scout Leader and lifelong friend commented on it the other day and said it was a shame we didn't have one of these when we were camping. It sure would have been nice. It would make a nice hunting camp too. You could erect bunks and a stove inside and still have all kinds of room.

We were even considering making pens inside for small animals like goats. This thing has a lot of potential.

Reloading with the Lee Loader

2011-04-19T12:23:00.000-04:00

This is all I need to reload 100 rounds of .303 British rifle ammunition. I am really impressed with my Lee Loader, it came with very good instructions and a load chart that made getting into reloading easy. I think they must have invented the K.I.S.S. principle (Keep It Simple Stupid) because this loading system works. Another thing I like about it is that it is very portable, you could take it to the field with you and reload anywhere. The initial cost (Bullets, Powder, Primers, Loader and accessories) is about the same as buying 5 twenty round boxes of commerial ammunition, but it has a plus. The rest of the 100 round batches you make will only cost you about what you would pay for 2 boxes.

The first thing you need is the Lee Classic Loader in your rifle caliber.

Here are a few interesting sites:

http://leeprecision.com/xcart/home.php

http://www.midwayusa.com/browse/BrowseProducts.aspx?brandId=1262

http://www.madcommando.com/eStore/
http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/deptsearch1x.asp?dept=Reloading

If you order it through http://www.midwayusa.com/browse/BrowseProducts.aspx?brandId=1262

it will cost you about $24.99.

Now the advertisement says "everything you need but a hammer" but I soon realised that I would also need the following to trim the cases before loading. You see in the act if firing the cases tend to expand and if they expand too much it can cause dangerous pressures to build. So just go ahead and order the following also.

Lee Case Length Gage and Shellholder in your caliber $4.49 This is used in combination with this:

Lee case trimmer cutter and locking stud $5.99

Lee Chamfer and Deburring Tool $2.79

Lee Primer Pocket Cleaner $2.09

Lee Powder Funnel 22 to 45 Caliber $3.29

The funnel may not be necessary but it sure makes it easier to add the powder, especially since it is made to fit into the top of the tool. And it is nice to have something to store all of your reloading supplies in such as Military Surplus Ammo Cans. I own several in different sizes and use them to store all sorts of stuff. I like them because they are usually air tight and will keep moisture out of the powder and primers. I usually pick them up at flea markets or Army Surplus stores but they are getting harder to find and more expensive all of the time.

Surplus Ammunition Can 50 Caliber 11" x 5-1/2" x 7" - $11.99

You can also order bullets, powder and primers from this same site but I normally get them from local stores such as Gander Mountain, also you need the loader first to find out what type of these items you need. You will also need a mallet or non metalic hammer to load with. Oh and I almost forgot, you need a bunch of used brass shell cases to reload. Clean them up (minor corrosion can be buffed away with a little 0000 steel wool and make sure the cases are empty inside too), sort out any corroded, dented or cracked cases and dispose of them.

I am sorry for the poor quality of the following photos but I shake too much to get very many good ones.

From the left a case with the primer removed, the depriming base, a Berdan primed case (usually only found on military rounds, sometimes having a colored primer, and cannot be reloaded), and the depriming rod. To deprime the case you stand it up in the base, insert the rod and tap it with a mallet.

clean out the primer pocket

Put the case into the shell holder and tighten the locking stud.

Screw the case length gage into the cutter/trimmer and insert it into the case.

give it a couple turns with gentle downwards pressure

Deburr the inside of the case wit a gentle turn or two.

and chamfer the ouside edge the same way.

insert the shell into the resizing chamber

it will only fit part way, stand the tool up and tap the case in flush with a mallet

put a new primer (cup side up) into the priming base

Stand the tool into the base

insert the priming rod and tap it with the mallet until the case frees and the primer seats

a perfect seated primer

stand the primed case in the depriming base

slide the tool over the top

insert the funnel

pour some powder into a non plastic container it need to be big enough to drag the measre through and deep enough to fill the measure. tap to level

pour into then remove funnel

drop in a bullet

insert the bullet seater and tap with mallet until flush

remove the tool

a perfectly seated bullet

to crimp the shell to the bullet stand it in the top of the tool place the depriming chamber over it and tap with a mallet

And there you have it a perfect round to rival any factory load. Total loading time, about 2 minutes

Ok, so I did leave out the instructions for adjusting the tool to the proper bullet seating depth, but it is well covered in the loader instructions, as is most of what I showed here.

Also I suppose I had better add that reloading can be dangerous and should only be done with proper adult supervision. Make sure to follow all saftey precausions when handling or storing gun powder or primers and loaded ammunition.

And remember: Treat all guns and their owners as if they are loaded.

Hunter vs. Sportsmen

2011-04-12T15:55:00.000-04:00

If you need this many shots....Go Home and practice.

Saturday was such a beautiful spring day here that after some yardwork Wifey and I had to go for a ride on our golf cart. We headed around the mile to see some of the wonders of spring, mainly the chirping of frogs that we heard all day.

Near the center of this picture is a woodland frog. There are thousands of them in the low lying areas that are now flooded from snowmelt, calling for mates to start the life cycle before these swamps dry up.

These spring wetlands also provide breeding grounds for our State Bird...The Mosquito.

Beautiful.

I am blessed to live in an agricultural area that is surrounded by State Game Areas and have access to miles of woodlots. I have hunted these areas all of my life. And I am appauled by what has become of them.

All the comforts of home.

When I as a teenager most of the deer hunting in this area was done by locals who either couldn't afford or didn't have the time to go "Up North" to the prime deer hunting areas because the local deer population was tiny. Now that our local deer population is so heavy that it has become "The Prime" area to hunt we are innundated with "Sportsmen" and "City Hunters". Now I need to make a little clarification here, "City Hunters" and "Locals" can be Sportsmen too. I can now understand what the people of Michigan's Upper Peninsula have gone through for centuries and why they refer to all non-locals as "Foriegners". The local economy gets a boost but is the price really worth it? This area used to have miles of State Game Trails that rivaled the road system, making for easy access all State Game lands. You could literally drive through the woods in your car and hunt or picnic with your family secluded from anyone else. Now the trails are blocked off and parking lots take their place. Making for miniuriture camp grounds during deer season.

Now that I have set the background, let me tell you what I consider the difference between Hunters and Sportsmen.

A Hunter is a person who takes pride for his actions while in the fair persuit of game. Who obeys the laws and is respectful of others and the property on which he hunts. A person who wants the careful management of game and game lands to better both. One who respects nature. And for all of you anti-huters out there, we don't just want to KILL something. Hunters enjoy the preperation, the search for and the decision of what animal they harvest. The kill is anti-climatic, the reward of a skillful hunt. The animal is dispatched in a skillful manner causing as minimal pain possible. The animal is then taken home and shared with family and friends. We care about the animals we hunt the way a farmer cares for his herd or flock. Hunting is NOT a sport.

Now for the Sportsman. This character doesn't care about anything but what he wants. He has little, if any respect for nature or the game he is going to kill and is only concerned about putting a trophy on the wall or bragging rights to his friends. He will shoot at anything and everything, without a care as to weather he wounds it to die later, or if it is a doe or fawn. And he usually leaves a mess.

I know I am in trouble the minute I make this comparrison and I really do NOT like what I am about to say. Responsible sport fans please excuse me here, I am not referring to you. The same as responsible hunters do not deserve to be classified with the rest when bad press is given out.

Have you ever seen the aftermath of a sporting event? If you have ever gone to a game, race or whatever and stayed to see what was left behind? That is a Sportsman. If you have ever cleaned up after a large party or wedding you will understand what I am talking about. I was going to title this post "Deer Season Aftermath" but considered it unfair to fellow Hunters. And heaven only knows that Anti-hunters don't need anymore fuel to add to the fire, but here I go:

Sportsmen tend to group with like minded individuals and hunt en-mass. And my Pappy always told me never to argue with an idiot with a gun, especially if he is or has been drinking. So how do you confront a Sportsman and tell him of his errors. I hope the following pictures reveal my sorrow and help change the ways of at least one Sportsman.

Litter.

More...

Let's cover it up.

Too many years of lazyness.

Target Practice.

Locals no doubt.

Such a pretty view.

Oh look, more!

Really.

An idiot with a chain saw.

A little too much campfire wood.

And the reason we have so many Coyotes and other scavengers like this Buzzard.

Antlers removed rest of carcas intact except for scavengers eating.

I have over 20 more photos like this.

The legs and head were nearby.

And another.

And a probable local drop off of the remains of butchering. 7 more of these.

I have many more photos of garbage, litter, destruction, carcases + 1 dog and 1 goat.

And now for the crying shame of it all....

This was all from an area of about 1/4 square mile.

I will return to clean up the litter.

April Fool's

2011-04-02T00:49:00.000-04:00

In honor of April Fool's Day I have a little story to tell. Back when my wife and I were dating I had a prank go bad. It was unintented prank, but the circumstances just fell into place and I opened my mouth without engaging my brain first.

We were waiting for a local theater to open and were browsing in nearby pharmacy when she spotted a display of cheap "cubic zirconium" jewelry and was enthralled by it's beauty. I of course told her to pick out what she wanted and I would buy it for her. Lynn chose a large ring that rivaled a 2 carat diamond. She put it on and it looked great. We laughed about it looking like an engagement ring, She had an idea about shocking a friend with "the news" as we proceded to the theater.

After the show it was still early and we decided to pay a visit to my parents. As luck would have it, my brother and his wife were there too. We had hardley got in the door and sat down when my sister-in-law spotted the ring. She grabbed Lynn's hand and said "Holy Shit is that real". (OH MY GOD, WE FORGOT ABOUT THE RING !!! ) Before Lynn could say anything I said "Of course it's real" and before I could add "cubic zirconium" all hell broke loose. My brother was pounding me on the back congratulating me, my sister-in-law was immediatly screaming and as women will asking how much a "rock" that size cost, comparing it to her much smaller engagement ring/wedding band. And my parents were in a state of shock. My mother was crying and my dad just sat there dumbfounded. Both of them were NOT happy. (Lynn and I hadn't even been dating for a year and I had only brought her over to the house a couple of times.) Their son was engaged to a girl they didn't know and he hadn't even discussed anything with them. I am sure they both thought she was "in trouble" and we had to get married.

Well it was too late to back out now. I could see Lynn was embarased, but like a trouper, she went along with my lead. We had to play this thing out. After a multitude of questions, not one of them was "IF" or when we got engaged. Did we have a date set? No Lynn was still in school. When did we get the ring? Just today we picked it up. How could I afford it? I had been saving my money. Etc. etc. All answers were more or less the truth. Then we beat a hastey exit. I WAS IN DEEP TROUBLE ! Lynn was torn between being mad at me and appologising for forgeting she had the ring on. And I was torn between forgetting about the ring too, and for starting the mess we just went through. I took her home and then went back to my home, to face the music from my parents.

Suffice it to say that I was right about my assumption concerning my parents. A lot of things were said that made it impossible to to tell them the truth. At this point in our relationship Lynn and I had not even discussed marriage. However after this incident it did become a topic of discussion in a lighthearted sort of way. As time went on my parents cooled down and I began taking Lynn over to see them more often.

Months later, I did pop the question. However at that time I could not afford a proper diamond ring. My future wife told me that it was alright. One engagment ring was enough.

My parents are both gone now, so it is safe to tell this story. Well...maybe my sister-in-law is in for a big surprise!

Reloading & Muzzle Loading

2011-03-28T22:07:00.000-04:00

A few days ago the subject of reloading came up and what started out as a simple email turned into this blog instead. My original plan for this blog was to share with my family my life experiences, especially my younger years. So this counts.

Reloading is a fun hobby and there is a lot less to learn about it than you might think. My brother and I started reloading 12 ga. shotgun shells around the age of 16. He ordered a Lee Hand Loader from the local hardware. It came with everything needed except the powder, shot, wads and primers. He upgraded it with additional powder and shot measuring cups and an attachment that fit on a drill to heat seal the crimped folds on plastic shot shells that were just coming out then. At first we followed the instructions and made many reloads by the book. It was very simple to do. First you had to check the empty shells for damage (i.e. - cracks, dents, dirt, corrosion) anything that was suspicious was tossed and dirty shells were cleaned up and checked again. The you removed the old primers with the included tool and cleaned the primer pocket (pipe cleaners worked well for us). Following that you carefully installed a new primer using the included tool. Next you add the right measure of gunpowder, (before starting you must consult the charts for the proper brand and type for the load you want to make and choose a shot size) followed but wadding or shot cup, and then you add the proper weight of shot (I liked using #5 shot size because of the larger BB size and the increased killing power at a distance. This also meant that each shell held fewer BB's. My brother on the other hand liked using #8 shot, filling the air with dust sized lead balls). Finally you crimp the shell and Viola !! You have just reloaded your first round. Make a few more and then go out and try a test shot and chart the pattern. Repeat a couple of times for consistency. If you weren't happy with the outcome you could try a different recommended powder, primer or shot size on your next batch. If you were happy, it was time to go hunting. We loved our new hobby.

After a while we started customizing shells for our own purposes, you could do that back in the day of paper shells and felt & cardboard wads. I used too make ultra light loads with less powder and less shot but more wadding, to get squirrels without tearing them all up and it was pretty quiet too. As a matter of fact instead of a bang it sounded more like someone blowing down a length of plumbing pipe. We also made some magnum type loads for bird hunting. When I think back on it, I am amazed that we never got hurt messing around like we did. A little knowledge and a teen-age attitude towards danger made for some scary loads, I would give you some examples but I am afraid someone might try them out. But we were smart enough to test fire our wildcat loads with the gun tied down to a tire and a LONG string on the trigger with us behind good cover. Kind of like the coyote in the Roadrunner cartoons. Maybe the new one piece plastic wad/shot cups are a GOOD thing.

Anyway LEE PRECISION CO. still makes those inexpensive loaders in most rifle and handgun sizes. And they work pretty much the same way. (Unfortunately they no longer make them for shotguns. But they do make an amazing inexpensive shot shell loader. I have had mine for years and punched out many rounds.)

I do have a British .303 cal. rifle hand loader but would like to upgrade to a set of dies for my loading press to get better accuracy and to better crimp the shell to the bullet to get factory load power. But since I don't hunt with it, I don't really need to.

Plus I can buy military surplus ammo cheaper than I can make reloads for it. But there is a certain satisfaction in shooting your own loads that makes it fun. It's kind of like fine tuning a black powder rifle. Getting the right primer, to the right powder, to the right wad, to the right lead, so you can get the most power and the best accuracy out of your gun. And that is why there are so many people who are fanatical about reloading. It only has to be as complicated and expensive as you want to make it.

And speaking of black powder, when I was shooting Muzzle Loading competitions (something my brother talked me into, as I suck at shooting paper targets with any gun, but give me a challenging shot and I'm there), it took me years to get the right combination (at that time I lived in town and worked too many hours to get in much target practice). I had a .58 cal. almost smooth bore musket, an Italian reproduction of the Civil War era Remington Zouve. It had an over sized bore so would not fire the standard minnie-ball that it was designed for, so I had to use a round patched ball. I got it to the point where I was consistently shooting in third place in competition with rifles, but I wanted more. I knew it wasn't me or the gun, I just hadn't found the right load combination yet. I had bought enough sights for it that I also new that wasn't the problem (I used fixed sights to match my shooting style). I tried different patch thickness and ball diameter combinations without any luck, finally settling on HORNADY .560 soft lead ball with a .58 cal. plastic "POLY PATCH" that was available at the time. I could only buy one brand of black powder or use "PYRODEX". I tried that and didn't get good results, so I tried using FFF instead of FF sized powder. (Either was recommended for use with my musket but FF was the preferred charge). Black Powder is graded to 4 sizes, from cannon powder F (the slowest burning) to FFFF or flash powder (the fastest burning, used for charging flintlocks and flash pans for very old cameras). I had even less success with that, so I hunkered down to to minute changes in the ff black-powder charge. As with all of the charge change attempts, I also tried using a variety of available caps including musket caps (which are way larger). Still no joy. Finally I came across an article in a magazine about homemade (made partly from chicken manure or women's urine) and mixing grades of black powder. Now that is something that anyone will tell you is a definite No-No, but since both FF and FFF were recommended for my gun I was desperate enough to try it. (different size powders cause different pressures along the barrel.) It didn't take me long to find the right combination. (I based this on the lowest recommended charge of FFFand gradually omitted some and replaced it with FF and blended it together.)

At the next competition I came in second at the 35 yard standard targets, I finally out shot my brother (on paper targets) with his black powder double 20 ga. using a round patched ball.
Then they had a buffalo shoot. They put up life size cardboard buffalo targets at 500 yards and invited us to try to hit them. This was a surprise for all of us. I knew that the Zouve musket had the ability with a minnie ball and that using a Poly Patch was close to it, as they stuck on the ball throughout it's flight. So I gave it a little Kentucky windage and elevation and let 'er fly....completely missing the target. I wasn't the only one, as a matter of fact only one person managed to hit the cardboard at all. Next round called for a little more elevation....same results. Now I was beside myself with disappointment. Then a light went on above my head, when I was target practicing at 50 yards my ball flew a little high. Dummy....at 35 yards my sight was set on the up curve of the flight trajectory...I was shooting way too high. My next round I aimed for the front leg where it met the bottom of the body and placed my round in front of the knee. BINGO!! I had the range...next round with correction on elevation and windage was a little high but a lung shot anyway. My final round was deemed a heart shot. Second place again. First place went to 3 lung shots and a body shot, by the guy who's idea it was to shoot the buffalo targets (he claimed that he didn't get in any practice shots...huh). He also took first place in the 35 yard shoot, but then he always did whenever he showed up.

I then went on to shoot at an axe-blade driven into a cedar post with a board behind it supporting clay pigeons on either side. The idea was to split the ball and break both targets. This was supposed to be just a fun target but no one had tried it. When the competition was over the judge asked me to give it a shot. How could I say no. At 35 yards I did just what was asked, I shot 4 more times with the same results. A crowd had gathered and they were shouting at me to keep going, so I did....19 times in a row, standing, reloading as fast as I could. I could have done more but by this time my gun was so fouled up with lead and powder deposits I could hardly get a ball down the barrel. After I was done everyone else had to try it. No one else even came close to my record, (a few did manage to split a ball though) even with their fancy rifles. Proud....you bet. But the only first place ribbons I ever got were for moving targets, odd shots, knife and tomahawk throwing, but that's for another blog.

Sadly after this competition, the guy who started it passed away. He was the owner of the local black powder gun shop and an amazing friend. Several people tried to get it going again but it never happened, nobody had the heart for it. After many years of sitting idle I finally got rid of my gun. They had quit making Poly Patches many many years ago for some obscure reason. I bought up any I could find, but my supply was running out. And it was getting hard to find the round lead balls for it anymore, the New Wave in black powder shooting is sabot rounds and pre-measured powder formed into a solid pellet. I could have bought some ball molds and made my own, and reworked my load recipe. But it is too cold for me to go out and sit during muzzle loading deer season anyway. If I ever get another muzzle loader it will be a small .36 or .22 caliber, just for plinking. They sure are fun to shoot.

Winter is BACK

2011-03-27T13:36:00.000-04:00

What a mess, ice and snow and freexing rain, with mud underneath.

Bright sunshine and it's snowing big fluffy flakes that this photo doesn't do justice.

Nor does this one, have you ever tried to get a good photo if snow fall?

Well it deffinatly isn't Spring here yet.

Searching for Spring

2011-03-22T00:33:00.000-04:00

A rabbit's eye view of a pine tree sprout.

We are attempting to revitalize our poor ancient orchard. When my in-laws moved here in '64 the orchard was old and unkept and it hasn't seen any real care since. About 30 years ago my brother-in-law and his friend gutted it for firewood and apple wood for smoking fish. After that nature took its course and it became a staghorn sumac breeding ground with a few other air and animal born tree and shrub seeds sprouting here and there.

Then about 10 years ago my daughter and her husband decided to clear out all of the sumac and some of the junk trees and shrubs. Then came the mowing. I can't tell you how many riding and push mower's, blades and decks were ruined in the first few years mowing those 2 acres, but it was too many. But their effort sure payed off in looks. The deer still came and grazed and bedded there, and enjoyed the bug infested scabby apples in the fall. Not many, but worth the trip anyway, on their way from the pine woods a half a mile behind us, down to the river a half a mile in front of us and back.

Three or four years ago we had a bumper crop of apples, since 1972 when I first started coming here I have never seen the like. The crop was so heavy limbs were breaking and during a severe wind storm 2 trees broke off near the base. We gathered bushels of good eating apples and bushels of others to use as stock feed and for canning. Any other year it was hard to find a good eating apple and maybe enough for a few pies.

Last spring we planted 2 apple and 4 pear trees and lost one, (two if you count the old ancient one in the yard). The year before we planted a sweet and a tart cherry tree, which the deer ruined in the fall and they died and a peach tree. The year before that I planed 1 peach and 2 mulberry trees which I am still trying to nurse into growing, they keep dying off in the winter and restart from scratch in the spring. Last year they grew the best and I hope they survive this spring. This year we have ordered 2 cherry, 2 peach, 10 sugar maples and 5 Dawn Redwoods. I am not quite sure where the last 2 items are being planted yet. And we will probably pick up a few more apple trees locally.

Well lets get back to now. Last week we decided to prune the old apple trees of all dead branches and old non-productive growth. We also had a tree that had broken a main trunk during the winter that needed removal. We had only done 4 trees when wifey decided that she wanted to trim the lower branches of some of the pine trees growing there. And that is when she discovered the pine seedlings.

Last year wifey decided not to mow the orchard because she wanted to get some milk goats and pasture them there. It didn't happen. This year wifey says come hell or high water we are getting some goats. And these seedlings must be transplanted first. So for the last few days we have been looking for pine tree seedlings, so far we have found over 90 of the tiny things.

Now we have little flags all over the orchard marking their locations. We have to hurry up and get them all marked before the weeds grow and cover them or it greens up any more than it is because they are so small and hard to see.

Some have been mowed down for years and others are just starting. Since we didn't mow the orchard last year all of the dead grass and weeds have covered up many of them making them almost as hard to find as a needle in a haystack.

Thursday we let Harley loose to come with us, but he got bored after a while, and when he headed for the neighbors and wouldn't come to our calls, we had to chain him back up and let Bear loose.

Bear came with us but made such a nuisance of himself by laying wherever we placed a flag that we had to go and put them both in the house so we could get anything done.

To make marking flags I cut metal coat hangers in half, straightened them and formed a eye at one end to tie a strip if plastic grocery bag onto. I got all of the coat hangers from my daughter Sarah who had bundles of them in her car that she left here to sell. She collected them from her laundry service that did her work uniforms when she was going to college. When it sold I had to clean out the car and wifey made me throw most of them away, but I snuck some into hiding. She says I save too much junk, but I always find a use for good strong wire. Hows that for recycling?

Owen's Car?

2011-03-11T14:05:00.000-05:00

New Arrivals

2011-03-05T01:10:00.001-05:00

In my last blog I mentioned an unexpected pregnancy and on Valentine's Day we found these 9 little fur balls.

Luckily we had put a nest box into the mothers pen just 2 days prior.

Just the day before the new arrivals, we had our grand kids visit. It was a beautiful day with temps just above freezing for the fist time in a long while. Aden & Ethan built this snowman while their father and I butchered 4 rabbits for a customer.

For the next 4 days we had temperatures in the high 40's. The wife shoveled a path out of the chicken coop and the whole flock broke out for the first time since snow fell. I am amazed that our "chicken" chickens who are so afraid of walking in the snow, have no problem with the cold mud and water and will stand in it all day but refuse to let their delicate toes touch the snow.

The arrival of warm weather gave us a chance to clean out the rabbit pens and muck out some of the chicken coop. We throw it in the trailer.. and just as fast the chickens scratch it out....until we brought Bear out to guard the trailer.

The arrival of all of that melt water caused the river to raise and broke up the ice, causing an ice jam down river and backed it up to the nearby bridge.

The warm weather also prompted the arrival of a logging crew. They started clear cutting the woods across the road from us on state land. I hate this practice. I also find it quite ironic that this land which at one time had great access by state game trails was closed to motor vehicles many years ago. And only 10 years ago when I asked the local DNR for permission to let my Boy Scout Troop camp there that they were too concerned about the impact it would have on the local ecology to let us. And now THIS ???

The melting snow heralded the arrival of local deer herds to the field behind us. The farmer had planted a cover crop of alfalfa last fall, and on this night wifey counted 148 deer grazing there.

Bear went with her to protect her and make sure she counted them right.

At nine days old the bunnies are finally starting to open their eyes and show that they are being well fed by Mom.

The next night brought only 136 deer back to the field. Sorry these photos are so poor in quality, but they were a quarter of a mile away and this was the best I could do with my poor camera and photo tools.

Also on St. Valentine's Day we put our old computer to rest and upgraded to a less ancient one that required me to learn Windows Vista....I am not impressed. Then due to an unfortunate accident our satelite modem died and we were without the internet for a week. We have had another snow storm and tonight it is raining.

I guess spring is arriving soon......But not quite yet....March has come in like a lamb...so watch out later this month !!!!

Easter Bunny Planing

2011-02-10T01:14:00.000-05:00

Well it's rabbit breeding time here on the Funny Farm. I am trying to raise bunnies to sell for pets again this Easter.

I purchased this female Mini Dutch last summer as a bunny for the sole purpose of breeding her to Dutchie.

We had also planned on breeding this female rabbit of unknown parentage (it is almost the size of my 2yr. old Califronia Giant.), that was given to me as a 6 week old bunny in November.

But somehow in the last couple of months she managed to change her sex. And the worst part is his pen mate was a female Rex rabbit which is now undoubtably pregnant. So Cassie just got a name change to Cassity.

And since I just got an order for some meat rabbits I guess I won't have to worry about not having enough room. After I sell the Easter bunnies I plan on breeding my 2 Californian does for more meat rabbits and maybe adding some Flemish Giants or New Zeelands to my stock this summer.
And maybe I ought to get a lighted magnifying glass to better sex the bunnies with.....

Weather or Not

2011-02-03T11:34:00.000-05:00

This morning is quite different from yesterday....

The sun was up there somewhere, but the blizzard that was dropping 12 1/2 inches of snow on us kept it pretty hidden.

This morning the road was plowed. A few short years ago, before our road was paved, this wouldn't have happened for a week.

Yesterday was a different story.

My son and his wife and grandson were stuck at the end of our road for over an hour, until a friend of his came to the rescue. We were supposed to babysit for them but that didn't happen.

This morning the sun is shining and looking pretty.

Late yesterday afternoon my son plowed our road to get here and clean out our driveway and a path to the chicken coop.

And as he was at it, he cleaned off the road so that when the plows finally got here they wouldn't fill it all back in.

But before he got here, wifey decided to go out and do a little shoveling around the door and out to the car.

Then ALL the way out to the chicken coop. At the time we had no idea that our son was coming over and we had to take care of the animals.

Working her way through knee deep snow until she finally made it to the frozen shut door.
And what was I doing while she was doing this?
Well someone had to hold the camera....

No, actually I had no idea that she was doing all of this, by the time I checked on her, she was over halfway there.

By the time I got dressed up, she was almost to the door, so I grabbed the water jugs for the animals and went out to care for them. After we finished and got back inside to thaw out, the Calvary arrived. So it was back outside to move vehicles.

Today I am sitting here looking out the window at all of this sunshine and snow, wondering where in the heck I am going to have the 2 1/2 cords of firewood being delivered tomorrow dumped.

So if you don't like the weather here in Michigan, stick around a little while...it'll change.

For The Birds

2011-02-02T23:51:00.000-05:00

This winter we have noticed a lot more birds than usual visiting our feeder. Most are chick-a-dees and sparrows with an occaisional cardinal....

and mouning doves.....

a few blue jays and a flicker or two

This poor flicker was pushed off the feeder by two mourning doves trying to eat too....

This bush was planted just to give the birds a place to roost near the feeder and they usually get along just fine while waiting their turn to dine.

I could not believe the audacity of the chick-a-dee at the end of the feeder, it didn't budge even when my son plowed snow around it.

Oh, and did I mention...we HAVE mourning doves !!!

Owen's Snowmobile

2011-01-25T12:14:00.000-05:00

Doesn't he look sweet.

Owen's other Grandpa races snowmobiles so naturally he had to get his grandson one.

He made the long trip down here to deliver it last weekend.

Dad trying to show him the ropes.

Notice how it has been personalised with his name between the racing flags = 01.

Owen and his other Grandpa.

Yes he really loves his Grandpa and enjoys every visit.

It is too bad that he lives over 300 miles away.

I am sure they both enjoy more playtime together.

Haming it up for the camera.

But speaking of snowmobiles, I hope Owen has better luck than me.

I have only been on a snowmobile a few of times and only as a passenger, that was way back in my teen years. Once on a short ride in Boy Scouts to get me to a location in a hurry. It was in the spring with slushy snow and my back got drenched and I was wet and cold for the rest of the day. Another time was with a neighbor's son who raced them, on a very modified super fast snowmobile. It was a fast ride that ended in near disaster.

He wanted to find a field of snow to try his latest modifications out in, and I told him where he could find one, but he insisted that I go with him. When we got to the field he hit the gas and the runners never touched down. As we neared the end of the field I tried to warn him that it was nothing but ice, but by that time we were going so fast that the ending was inevitable. At the end of the field was an old barbed wire fence some small trees and bushes and of course a rock pile. As we hit the ice I managed to holler "FENCE" but the runners had no purchase on the ice an he couldn't turn, he hollered "DUCK".

Luckily the snow had built up at fence/tree line and we managed to clear all of the bigger trees and most of the rock pile. I remember flying through the air thinking "this is going to hurt" and then strangely, "how pretty the frost and snow was on the trees in the nearby woods", just before hitting the ground.

There was enough snow on the other side to help cushion the fall. Neither of us were hurt seriously but the snowmobile was a mess. The windscreen was torn in half and the guys snowmobile suit had a big tear in it, and my hat, was gone. I think the fence got them. The runners were torn off, the fiberglass hood was shattered and debris was everywhere. The remainder of the sled landed about a foot away from the driver.

Needless to say we were both lucky to be alive and without any broken bones. As we limped home about a mile away, he told me we were going in excess of 100 mph before I warned him about the ice and he tried real hard to slow us down. My extra weight was something he didn't take into consideration when he hit the throttle, and it was all he could do to keep us from flipping. With me holding on to him and pulling him backwards he couldn't release the throttle, and he didn't think we slowed down all that much until the rock pile. He and his dad later retrieved the snowmobile and he went on many more years of racing.

I on the other hand, while not afraid of them, choose not to participate in the sport of snowmobiling. Many years of working outside in the winter has left me with a better way to spend my leisure time, INSIDE where it is warm.

My wife has mentioned a few times over the years that it would be nice to have one, especially when we would get snowed in for long periods. But somehow we have never gotten one.

Ok, let's try this again...

2011-01-23T22:50:00.000-05:00

Brady & and me

I have been away from here for far too long and now I don't know how to start or where.

So first I will tell you a little Christmas story:

When I think back to my childhood and realize just how close my parents families were, and weekends were spent visiting relatives, I wonder what happened. Some of my best memories as a child are from those weekends and it is sad that my children never had an opportunity to know their cousins as I did mine. For my part it was because I worked 7 days a week usually for more than 70 hours. But my brother and sisters families never adopted the weekend visiting tradition of our parents either. We do try to get together on the last sunday of the month, but since my Dad died we haven't done a very good job of it. What with illnesses and vacations and work schedules or other "more pressing" issues, it seems we just can't all make it. Now it is hard just to get all of mine, my brother and sisters' families together for Christmas. Yes, much can be blamed on the economy or the social changes brought about by the electronic age, or whatever. But I wonder how my parents could find the time for all of these visits and I can't? Even though I no longer work. Still I think it comes down to choice and habit.

At our annual Family Christmas Eve Celebration this year, I sat back and marveled at how well all of the grandchildren got along with one another. And how our children mingled and reforged family ties. I even spent a few minutes on the floor with a greatnephew throwing a ball back and forth. Not such a big deal, maybe...but it was the first time that he showed any interest in me and I wasn't about to let the opportunity pass. Three year old Brady was playing with a ball as I was walking by, he bounced it high and I made a quick save as it headed over the stairwell rail. I rolled it back to him and he quickly rolled it back to me...an open invitation to play...I couldn't resist even though I knew I was going to have a heck of a time getting off the floor. As I was getting myself down to his level, my son asked if it was such a good idea, as he didn't think he would be able to get me up (his back was bothering him, (another family tradition). I told him that I would crawl to the stairs if neccessary. Brady and I had a blast rolling the ball back and forth. His outbursts of giggling prompted me into making faces and other foolish things. Soon other children came to join the game and I left after a while. (I even managed to get myself up unassisted.) The glow in that childs eyes and his laughter made it all worth while.

Opportunity and Choice...what wonderful things.

And now for the obligatory family photos....

Our family, minus our youngest daughter, who moved to Florida last summer.

My brother's family.

The eldest of my sister's family with our step-mother.

My youngest sister and her husband.

Our 2 oldest grandchildren.

And our youngest.

The Hen Crippler

2010-04-21T12:16:00.001-04:00

Just how big do chicken eggs get???

This egg topped the scales at 4 ounces !!!!

We were working in the yard and heard a BIG commotion in the chicken coop, later when we went in to gather eggs we found out why !!!

If that poor hen never laid another egg I would understand why. We also had a mini-egg layed the same day that was 5/8 of an ounce. So the following photos...

Yup it was a double yolker (one broke), the mini-egg at top of picture had no yolk and was runny so I flipped it, the dark coloring is from the sausage I cooked first. And yes it was delicious!

Unwanted Houseguest

2010-04-16T13:14:00.000-04:00

Well our new additions to the flock have become quite a stir to the henhouse. A week ago monday saw a new birth .

Mother was very attentive to her chick, which again I had to help out of it's shell.

Sadly none of the other eggs hatched. We had put 11 freshly laid eggs under the hen after her first attempt at hatching resulted in complete failure. Upon opening a couple eggs after 48 hours later, I found fully formed dead chicks. I can only wonder at the cause. Did they suffocate in the shells? We had frequently checked them for sounds of peeping and tapping and heard none. Our hens eggs are very hard shelled and the lining is pretty tough and rubbery (that is except for the Grey Leghorn eggs which are just the opposite and sometimes just picking them up from the nest, fractures thier delicate shells). Why do I have such a high failure rate on setting hens?

The 21 day old chicks were doing well and being very well cared for by their mother.

Here is the one I had to help out of it's shell, I believe it is a Americana-Isa Brown cross.

This one seems to be pure Americana.

And the last one I am unsure of.

All of the other hens gape at them through the fence, but poor old Snaggle Beak seems to be the most frequent visitor, she peeps at them and looks longingly at them and trys to get into their pen continuously.

Big Red also seems to be quite interested in the chicks.

We have also purchased more chicks, 7 Silver-Laced Wyendotts, 4 Barred Rocks and 4 Grey Leghorns.

(One of the Barred Rocks died recently).

Anyway after we let the hen and and out of their enclosed nestbox to roam with the others, we noticed that she became less and less attentive to her new chick. As it would try to get under her she would step on it to get away from it, until it was forced to try to ingratiate itself with the other hen. She sometimes accepted it as her own, but other times chased it away. We tried putting the mother and chick back into the enclosed nestbox after the other hen pecked it hard on the back drawing blood. But the mother hen almost stomped it to death trying to get out. So we had to do something drastic.

We had to bring Little Peep into the house to care for it.

Spring is Coming

2010-03-30T12:27:00.008-04:00

Spring must be comng.

We are getting a few warm days and it's possible to get out and enjoy the sun ( something we haven't seen much of in the last 6 months),

Aden and Ethan sitting in the shade, their fair skin can only handle just so much direct sun without sunblock.

My son Eric came over to work up or new garden spot.
After the plowing was done, Owen decided that he had better supervise the OLD MAN, and make sure he did it right.

Evidently he wasn't getting through to Dad and had to take over.

I guess if you want the job done right, you just have to do it yourself.

Did I mention we are going to have a BIG garden this year?

This small leg of the L shaped garden will be used for planting a test plot of sorghum, wheat, oats, buckwheat and an assortment of grass, clover and other hay type plants. Since it is the most deer traveled area of the property, I am hoping to keep them here and away from the rest of the garden area by planting a sunflower barrier betweeen the two and surrounding the rest of the garden with sunflowers too.

Well It's Been A LONG Winter

2010-03-23T19:01:00.000-04:00

Harley NOSE you are still there!!!
It has been a long time since my last post and all I can blame it on is getting addicted to Facebook games.
It has been my downfall.
So I will try to briefly update the situation around here.

We used up all of our firewood last month and had to buy 2 face cords so far.

I contracted the sale of some Easter bunnies at a local pet store and set about breeding 2 of my female rabbits to time the bunnies sale age with the time for delivery, and had fantastic results.
Each doe had 9 bunnies.

These little ones were born Feb. 10

All survived our harsh winter temps.

and are ready for delivery.

It was hard parting with all of these cute little guys. They were all sold yesterday, 12 to the pet store and 6 to a local farm supply store.

We went from this...

to this in a couple of weeks. The chickens were very happy to get out of the coop and free range. All except for two......

Here are 2 hens sitting on some eggs and last sunday this is what we found.

only the one hen's eggs hatched 3 chicks and the rest were discarded after 48 hours.
I had to help the yellow one out of it's shell. Mom had almost half of the shell picked off, but the tough white membrane was beyond both her and the chick. All it had was a very tiny hole through it with just the tip of its beak out. Even I had a tough time tearing it and freeing the poor little exhausted chick. I didn't think it was going to survive, but it did, and seems just as healthy as the other two.

We re-set the other hen with eleven fresh eggs, hopefully we will have more chicks.

Here is Dutchy, my 1 year old pet mini-dutch rabbit. I found his walking vest and took him out for a stroll in the nice warm sun.

Two of our rooosters came to investigate...

Dutchy wasn't afraid of them but decided to check in with me anyway, at least until they went away.

After his walk I removed the vest so he could clean up before returning him to his pen.

My grandson Owen loves his walker and the freedom he has in it.

And here he shows me one of his toys before he plays one of his favorite games,
"Make Grandpa Pick It Up".

My wife decided to give Owen a ride on her bike, he fits nicely in the basket and really enjoyed himself.

I followed them with my electric cart to make sure he didn't put his hads close to the moving parts or try to climb out.

And here is my other two Grandchildren, Ethan and Aden.

Grandma spent a lot of time trying to get this picture...

about 2 dozen others look more like this......

Yesterday we also ordered 100 Vantress Cross meat chickens.

After the success with the 25 we raised last year she was determined to raise more.

The day old chicks will arrive April 27th. and reside in the "Pallet Palace".

We will have to move the rabbits outside and make the place safe for the chicks by covering the inside walls with chicken wire.

My son Eric came over last weekend and cut down some trees for firewood next year. So we have to get busy and remove a couple off the old garden spot. And start cutting up firewood....again!!!

Wifey also plans on having a large garden this year in a new spot that we have been covering with manure all winter. She has just begun to start seeds indoors.

I plan on trying to plant a hay and straw patch behind the orchard.

Wifey is still talking about getting a couple of goats this summer, so we don't plan on mowing the orchard this year.

"We", are also hoping to have a roof on the barn before fall, build a goat shed in the orchard, finish the "Pallet Palace", put a roof on the front porch, and an addition to the back porch. Where "the Wife" plans to come up with the time and money is beyond me, but we will see...........

What a Load of Crap

2010-01-20T14:26:00.000-05:00

It's after Dark...When the 2 old cripples get to work.

We don't have to wear garlic or load up silver bullets...

The smell of what we are shoveling keeps all intelligent creatures at bay.

You won't find a "Twilight" creature within miles of here!

'cause we're cleaning rabbit cages and whats under them, out tonight!

As I said all INTELLIGENT creatures stayed away....These girls were taking FULL advantage of their first day out of the coop in weeks and made more work for us, trying to herd them up and get them inside for the night.

And here is the nights haul, I spread it on our garden spot the next day, taking full advantage of our January thaw to get things done.

Now I suppose we could have done this earlier in the day but we were blessed with a visit from our nephew Chuck's daughter. Now I suppose I could have done what Danni does and put our visitor to work. Especially since we had her out in the Pallet Palace earlier in the day....

But all I forced her to do was hold our most FEROCIOUS Rabbit, the dreaded Mini Dutch, DUTCHIE.

And of course we made her put up with the TERRIBLE TWOSOME.....

"Pet Me" BEAR and "Kissy Face" Harley

Until she finally passed out from over exertion......

Sunday we had more company....

Ethan and Aden, our two favorite munchkins.
Of course we let their mom and dad stay too.

Then Monday it was back to this guy....

My son,"Eric the Terrible's" Mini-Me .....Owen

Eagle Day

2010-01-18T00:19:00.000-05:00

My wife was the one who spotted it, on a deer carcas that our dog Bear has been visiting since it was hit by a car about a week ago. (I was surprised to see that it had drug itself so far out into the field before it died)

At first we just watched it though my binoculars, then I decided to try to get some pictures. A few years ago the Bald Eagles started showing up in our area. Seen far and few between and mostly juvinile birds (which are easy to assume are Turkey Buzzards). This is the first time I have been able to photograph a mature bird.

From my driveway all I could see was a speck, in the photo it is a little above and to the left of center.

So I drove down the road snapping pictures as I tried to get as close as possible.

I tried to blow up the image but it wouldn't come out very clear. It is actually sitting on what's left of the carcas. Bear has hauled all of it's broken legs home (which I have had to dispose of ) and I am sure the local coyote population has had a meal or so too.

As I inched closer it stopped feeding.

And after this photo it took off, (while I was trying to adjust the camera to it's optimum settings, and so missed the whole take-off and flight).

I hope it comes back tomorrow.

Firewood

2009-12-14T12:53:00.001-05:00

Have you ever tried to get anything done around free ranging chickens?

While attempting to pick up some wood that was stacked to dry, my hens followed me to see if they could find some treats. As soon as I started loading it on the truck they dove in. While some attacked the wood pile, Goldie jumped on the tailgate, to be closest to me, and made a nuisance of herself.

Of course she wasn't alone.

When I finally got to the bottom of the pile the feasting really began.

On our days off from babysitting, and sometimes after babysitting, we have been kept busy cutting firewood for the winter.

My son built this trailer for me. A friend of his entered a demolition derby where they had boats on trailers towed behind their cars and my son got what was left of the boat trailer. He cut down the frame and added a different axle and tires, then built the box on it. As an added bonus it was an old tip trailer, so the box will dump. This has come in very handy especially when it is loaded with manure. As you can see in the photo, we loaded the trailer with wood and the truck with brush.

And he made this hydraulic log splitter for his tractor. It has been a real back saver and makes short work of a stack of wood. And since he doesn't heat with wood, I guess you could say he built it for our use. Thank you son.

He bought the hydralic cylinder and attached it to an I-beam from an old mobile home frame.

He fabricated the splitting wedge, slide and stop.

We temporarily set it up on blocks but he has plans of making it a tow behind assembly.

This is some of the downed trees we have yet to cut up.

And here is part of my ever growing brush pile.

This photo shows how late we normally work cutting, splitting and stacking wood. This was our last load of the day to be stacked. Then it was on to feeding the animals, and finally ourselves.

I know you can't see much in the photo, so I lightened it up for better viewing.

These photos were taken about 2 weeks ago, The following were taken today after 2 days of thawing weather following our first major snow of the winter with near 0 temps and high winds.

Most of our dwindling wood supply. We have been burning it for a couple of months already.

The chickens were very happy to get out of the coop again.

Goldie and friend, staying close and finding the large bare spot to forage.

Some venturing further away but under protection.

And finally of course, our grandson Owen.

Now that winter is here hopefully I will find more time for blogging.

Building the Pallet Palace

2009-11-18T11:18:00.000-05:00

I wish that I had a bunch of pallets like this, but sadly it is just one of the odd extra pallets that I have left from the construction. So first we will flip it over...

and show the bottom, notice the three 2x4 rails on the bottom. As you can see this is a very sound pallet and excellent for use in building,

Some are not, but they are still usefull to dismantle for the wood needed in the construction. The 2x4's are used to fasten the good pallets together and the slats are used to replace badly damaged or missing ones or fill in between the spaces of the good pallets.

The first step is sorting your pallets and finding good matches where the outside rails match up (unlike these two but I will use them for demonstration anyway.

After you line the pallets up take 2 of the rail from the dismatled pallets and scab them on to the to the inside of the outside rails of the good pallets. (if the middle rails line up, scab one to it also) Long drywall screws work best for this as the hard wood makes it almost impossible to use nails.

I was lucky to have pallets that were 4ft long and only needed to use 2 for each panel.

Here is a before and after....

of scabbing on a rail, I only used one pallet for clarification.

After you join enough pallets to get the height of the wall panel, trim any slats that hang over the edge and add nails to the slats where neccesary and replace any broken or missing slats.

If you want a solid wood wall now you can fill in between the slats with pieces of the dismantled pallets. (see photo above)

Now you have one complete wall panel. Make as many panels as you need for the length of the walls you want.

From here things get more complicated because you can build it many different ways. It is possible to construct the entire wall on the ground first is you have enough manpower or equiptment to raise it. But since we didn't I will just tell you how we did it. It may not be the most sound construction method but due to limited time it was the fastest and if it survives the harsh winter winds and weight of the snow, I will strengthen it next summer. I don't want to give the impression that it is rickety, as it is a very sound addition, but there are a few things I plan on doing to make sure it will last for a long time.

As I mentioned in my previous blog, all we did was lay a treated 4x4 base, and after all of the wall panels were constructed, one by one they were erected and toe-nailed to it and each other, again using 3 1/2 inch drywall screws. So in effect the walls are 4x4 stud, 2x4 stud, 4x4 stud construction. The corners are filled in with additional 2x4's.

After all of the walls were up and a doorway constructed a chaulk-line was made at the end wall and the excess was removed using a chainsaw. Then a 2x4 was used to cap it off to attach the rafters to.

Then another chalk-line was used to mark the roof pitch and the other walls were trimmed and the first 2x10 rafters were cut, notched and attached to them. Then the rest of the rafters were installed and covered with 7/16" OSB sheets.