ProgressEven though the posts are generally shorter, Wednesdays are generally productive days; this was no exception. With Ron out of order, due to illness and visitors, Sue has begun to tackle the remaining tasks on the RCW on her own. Plus, she’s been stocking up the feed and seed and alfalfa and hay for when she’s going to be gone (starting this Sunday, back next Sunday). Travel always takes way more preparation than you initially realize, but I think it’s important that Sue takes the time to attend this class, and have some time away too. I shouldn’t be the only one who gets to play! Anyway, progress is always a good thing, even though you can’t always recognize that you’re actually making it.

IMG_1474Today, Sue finished three tasks that were pending. She put on the flashing at both ends, in preparation for laying on the roof. That’s no easy task by oneself… the windy conditions alone make it frustrating. She said she used her clamps to keep it in place until she could nail it onto the boards.  She also covered the window IMG_1473“awnings” with shingles to keep them from rotting. Before doing that, she realized that some of the boards hadn’t been waterproofed yet, so she finished that (and used the extra to waterproof a good portion of the doves’ aviary). The photo at the left is a little dark, but it’s really the only awning where you can kinda see the shingles.  You can also see the flashing on IMG_1469that end as well. The final thing that she did to the RCW today was add the “front porch”. She confided in me that now it’s so much easier to get in and out, she wishes they had done that earlier in the process. Funny the things you learn in the midst of a project! I told her we needed to find a little rocking chair to add it for aesthetics. Yep, just another weird idea from me. Not sure those are really all that helpful.

The-Disabled-List-LogoIn other news, we have another sick chicken. One of the Delawares has got the crud.  Sue saw that she was being picked on by the others today – she’d been starting to struggle for a bit, but was still walking around and eating and drinking – so, Sue has her in the carrier and later tonight we’ll put her in the large crate on the layers side and see if she can recover. Sometimes they make a bit of a comeback, but generally they succumb in the end. We do all we can to make them comfortable and give them a fighting chance. You just never know.  It has been a while since we’ve had anyone on the DL, but now we have two. One of our duck hens is suffering from complications. We’re not sure exactly what they are. She’s the one that has a large tummy, we at first thought she might be egg bound, but Sue checked her out a while ago and there wasn’t anything stuck. She may have some type of tumor – that is known to happen on occasion. We haven’t separated her from anyone yet, no one seems to picking on her and she does come out to eat and drink.  She lays in a cool place by the coop and I’ve noticed different chickens and ducks stay with her through out the day. It’s always sad when we have some birds down, we always hope for the best though.

That’s it for today. Friday we’ll be back with more updates. Until then, as always~
Thanks for reading!

Today’s Weather: I think Summer has arrived a few weeks early! My car thermometer said 92° when I came home around 2pm. Right now, 5:02 p.m.,  it’s 84° – it’s been about 10° cooler here than in Sierra Vista. We’re on a 3 day Fire Watch Warning due to the dryness, winds and heat. Can’t wait for the monsoons to roll through, but right now it’s just partly cloudy. Low tonight is forecast as 56°.

Egg Report: Yesterday we had zero goose eggs, 2 duck eggs, and 44 chicken eggs. Today we zero goose, 2 ducks, and 36 chicken eggs.  Easily making our way towards our 10 dozen eggs for Bisbee GoodCakes. 🙂