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November 16, 2003
Fall Settles In
| Fall has definitely settled in and will soon be replaced by winter. We made it through the windstorms ok (gusts of over 60mph). The 3 or so inches of snow we got last week have melted and the yards are full of mud. If we wear the wrong shoes we go flat on our butts for sure. We finally had a weekend without any plans. Of course the weather was not conducive to anything! It is that time of year where we spend a lot of time doing paperwork, getting tax papers ready, sorting receipts, planning for next year. [A good tax form site] Sometimes the planning is easier than the doing -- we still have projects planned for this year that have yet to be finished. The chicken coop needs to be finished, turkey shelter needs to be done, goose shelter needs to be done, a fourth goat pen needs to be done, bulbs still need to be planted in the if-it-isn't-muddy-it's-frozen ground. I'm not even going to mention the people tasks that need to be done, like firewood... What we did do this weekend was sort out the barn a bit. It is the twice-annual task of rotating what we have in the barn. This time of year, summer things go in the rafters and winter things brought down and made handy. At the same time we rediscover all the things we thought we lost -- the fish fryer, the cone sieve, other pots. Planters, hummingbird feeders, row covers and plastic go up in the rafters for us to "rediscover" next year. Every day I let all the boys run free while I work or am out running errands. This includes 2 families of bantam cochins, 5 of this year's roosters, a turkey, 2 geese, and 2 ducks. I am hoping they can stay out of trouble. So far things have gone well although the pygmy kids have discovered that chicken food tastes really good, and that they can fit through the open door of one of my coops. Loose dogs have come through twice in two weeks to stir things up. This last time they were in the chicken shed, but no one was hurt. Cats watch from the treeline as well. I am hoping I can continue to let most of the birds roam unsupervised through the winter and that they will make it unscathed. |
Murphy shows the boys who's boss.
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Posted by roosterh at November 16, 2003 1:42 PM
