06 Friday Oct 2017
I feel odd writing today, so quickly after the last post. That’s what happens when the schedule gets yanked around. This is a long weekend for me – we actually get Columbus Day (AKA Indigenous Peoples Day – depending on which camp you’re in) off! I haven’t had that day off since I worked at a bank or brokerage. Something like 20 odd years ago. So we have some plans for the weekend. Continue reading
29 Friday Sep 2017
If you read our last post, you may have noticed a hint of our newest arrivals. Sue has adopted 9 Ringneck Doves, from an older couple in Bisbee who needed to find a home for them due to health issues. They came to live with us in the middle of this week and are temporarily housed in one of the dog crates. They are dainty, pretty little things, even though some of them are in the middle of molting. They are settling in to their new environment and are even, almost, getting used to the dogs barking. Ringneck doves, also known as Cape Turtle Doves, are a gentle species of bird that have been domesticated for over 1,000 years. Though their original plumage was a mixture of browns and grays, they come now in a variety of colors, including fawn, pied, tangerine, and white. Ring-necked doves sound similar to pigeons in their cooing, and though they are not loud, they can be persistent. Some people find the noise soothing, while others will be annoyed at their cooing diligence — it is said that they rarely cease, but ours are very quiet for long stretches. The ring-necked dove is the most commonly kept companion bird of the dove family. Originating in Africa, these hardy birds can be found living happily in the wild in most of the Southern states. Because they are so hardy, they make a good choice for someone who doesn’t have the time to devote to a more attention-demanding bird. Continue reading
25 Monday Sep 2017
Posted in Fun Stuff, Special Report
Borrowed photo from the Cochise County Fair Facebook page.
This Saturday we took a trip to the Cochise County Fair. We weren’t really too sure what to expect, but hoped that we’d be able to meet up with other chicken farms in the area, maybe find out who has baby chicks for sale or the like. So, we went on a beautiful Saturday morning and got there right when it opened. There were few people there yet, only those setting up booths or rides, those who had shown dogs in the morning, or those getting ready for roping competitions. We did end up watching the roping competitions for a few different categories. I tried to get photos of the young men and women, but our vantage point wasn’t the best and mostly my photos showed the fence rails and a lot of dust clouds! These kids were fearless! And quite talented. Plus we learned that you can go to college on a roping scholarship – who knew? How cool is that. Sue said she missed here calling! (Not sure that I’d agree with that.) Continue reading
20 Wednesday Sep 2017
Home improvements are a constant thing for most of us, right? Well, around here many of the home improvements are for the chickens! They out number us, after all, and we want to keep them happy and laying. Happy chickens are productive chickens! Here are a couple home improvements that went on today. Continue reading
15 Friday Sep 2017
Posted in Fun Stuff
We haven’t been in the community long, but I’m beginning to see how we are becoming connected; small connections, but they really help us out. We’ve become somewhat active in the Sierra Vista United Methodist Church (I’ve never been a Methodist before, but so far it seems to be working – after I got over the fact that the pastors are changed on a whim. Sah.) and we’ve met some great folks who have helped us get into Outreach in the area. With their help, we will be able to continue finding avenues for the 10% donation to our community; our effort to bring quality, whole, organic food to those who may not be able to afford it. It is still a small effort, but we will be growing. Thank you Holly and Rev. Mark, for getting us connected and encouraging us along the way. Continue reading
08 Friday Sep 2017
Chicken vs. Duck
…eggs that is. I’ve noticed some reluctance, on the part of our customers, to trying duck eggs. Yes, it’s true, they are more expensive than chicken eggs, but they are a great deal bigger! You get more bang for your buck when you purchase duck eggs over chicken eggs. “But, can you eat them?” Well, of course you can! One of the neatest things about duck eggs is that they cook up much fluffier than chicken eggs and are wonderful for baking, for that one simple reason. That’s not the only good thing though. Continue reading
06 Wednesday Sep 2017
I know that you’ve been hearing a lot about hay movements lately, but just one more report today and we’ll move on. Today, Sue hauled all the goat hay from the previous cleaning over to this side of the fence. Some of it she used to give the newest plantings a bit of mulch. This will help keep them from drying out so quickly since the rain has started back up. The remainder of it she put in the chicken runs. The photo you see, to the left, is little Maeve who quite quickly scratched herself a hole in the hay and got to work. Later, both she and Imen were submerged to their heads in the hay. I was sure the hay walls they had made were going to topple and cover them at any moment. So far, the walls – and the chickens – are still standing. Continue reading
30 Wednesday Aug 2017
Posted in Co-workers, Fun Stuff
Yes indeed. Little chickens arrived today. Our first batch anyway. Because they are Bantams, they are extra small! Therefore, extra cute. You know I’m biased because I grew up with these little, cute, feisty chickens, but it’s difficult for people to get excited about extra small eggs! However, they are exceedingly great foragers and bug getters. We need some bug getters, let me tell you! The Hatchery sent us 21 babies! We were only supposed to get 16, I’m wondering if they thought we were going to lose some in transit. So far, they all seem quite hale and hearty. They don’t walk anywhere- they run! Then they stop wherever they get too tired and take a nap… sometimes that’s right in the middle of the food dish. 🙂 I took a short video of them that I’ll put at the bottom of the post, just to share the cuteness.
As I write this, I’m outside watering some of the trees because it’s been a number of days since we’ve had helpful rain. Although it takes some time, watering is one of my favorite things to do in the evening. I get to outside, focusing on something further away than the computer screen ( unless I’m bogging), and – in the quiet – I notice things that maybe I wouldn’t otherwise. Today I noticed that an army of ants had beat a path from their nest – in the center of the cleared area of the photo – to the other side of the fence. It’s a perfectly cleared highway and it was bustling with workers. I think most of them were hauling seeds, some had filched chicken feed. It’s a little hard to see, but it starts center photo and goes up, just to the left of the little tree. If ants can work together to make highways… what can we accomplish as a species? We’d just like to feed some people. And we’ll keep you posted on how that works out. Until then, as always~ thanks for reading!
Oh! I forgot! Here’s your video.
Today’s Weather: it was warm again today with slight winds off and on. I’m hoping for more rain!
Egg Report: ok- somehow we ended up with four duck eggs (one was NOT a goose egg) and 17 chicken eggs.
23 Wednesday Aug 2017
Posted in Co-workers, Fun Stuff, Projects
You probably know I was gone on a business trip Monday and Tuesday. When I finally came home Tuesday afternoon, Sue had sent me photos of the work she did while I was gone. Here’s the low down. Continue reading
16 Wednesday Aug 2017
Posted in Fun Stuff
For the past month or so, we’ve had ADOT working on the corner of road right by our place. We are on the corner of Prince Placer and South Stone Ridge. They have been upgrading the road where the water washes over it during the monsoons. It seems that a few years ago, after the fire, they had some real trouble with flash flooding. So far this year that has not happened, but now we are completely prepared, just in case. They have been using some extra heavy equipment that actually shakes our house as they are performing some of their grading exploits. The dogs and cats really hate it. Yesterday, one of the men working on the site asked Sue if he could grade a portion of our property – outside our fence- that runs along Prince Placer Road. We thought that it belonged to the county, that’s what Sue was told when she moved in. They even stopped us from using the driveway entrance off of Prince Placer. Continue reading
Wing and a Prayer 