Cold Weekend

It is a cold weekend here. This morning when we awoke (shivering) the temperature had to have been in the mid to low teens. The pigs were very happy to get a hot breakfast, even if it did mean that they had to climb out of their hay bed that they so happily rooted themselves into yesterday. The pigs are big enough that they get 2 hot meals a day now, the second one being between 2&3 in the afternoon.
   I used the wood splitting maul to break the ice out of the cows' water tank so that they could drink. If things don't warm up a little bit this afternoon I may need to do that again when I feed Soupy and Norm this afternoon. The chickens were very grateful to have access to water this morning. The critters need to drink, that is for certain.
   Tomorrow I am going to go to Jeff Johnsons' house to have some boards re-cut to the width/length that I need for a project I am working on. One of these days it will have warmed up enough that I will be able to stain the chicken house that I built this winter. Today will be spent keeping the fire going in the wood cook stove and thereby keeping the house toasty-warm for Tippy & myself.

Pig Update

Here are some recent (today) pics of the pigs. My, how they have grown!

A Not-So-Soggy Blanketing

We finally got some snow yesterday and into last night. About 6" worth of the white, cold stuff. Tippy is still kinda' confused about it. The snow sticks to her feet & legs and so she runs & jumps a little harder trying to get rid of it but the harder she tries the more accumulates and it's frustrating to the poor pup. One thing is for sure -- when I open the door to the house she wastes no time in shooting past me and into the house.
   The chickens on the other hand are quite certain that they don't like the snow. They are all staying inside of their chicken house - eating, clucking, and wishing that things would warm up a bit.
   I haven't been over to check on Soupy & Norm  (the pigs) yet, but when I do go over I will put a couple fresh bales of hay in their pen so they have something to burrow into and keep warm.
  My day is going to be spent keeping fires burning in the house and the shop so that the critters and myself will stay warm. Today is supposed to be the worst of the cold temps, then tomorrow it will start to slowly warm up.

A Soggy Dusting

We woke to a soggy dusting of snow today. Tonight it is supposed to start in earnest so I hauled some extra firewood to the house so that we can use the wood cook stove for additional heat. The critters are all fed and happy. While at the barn I transferred some hay bales so that I would have a better idea how much hay is left. It looks like there will be plenty to get all the animals well into spring, and then some. Next winter there should be one more cow to feed (unless Pretty Baby has twins!) so I will need to buy just as much hay next year. I will feed out this present barrel of grain to the 2 cows and that will be all the grain they will get until next winter. Thank-goodness! That grain is expensive, but the alternative is to feed higher-protein alfalfa hay and it would cost more in the long run to do that. When dad milked cows he fed them alfalfa hay and grain, every day.
   This afternoon I'm going to L.C.C. to get my food handlers' certification so that I can work part-time in the food service industry -- or so I hope.
   I expected to hear from my attorney yesterday, but did not. That's O.K. though, as it makes no difference to me whether or not these titles get transferred anytime soon. This whole issue with moms' estate is working out better than I could ever have imagined. Thanks Mom!

No Salmon Yet

I just wanted to add a short note on here that during 5 days of operation, there were no Spring Chinook recovered at the Barrier Dam on the Cowlitz River last week.....still a little early, but I just walked over and looked at the river and DANG! it looks really good. Excellent green color to it right now, but that won't last long once these low snows start to melt.

Ready For Snow

We are ready for the snow around here. Yesterday I got my flight netting for the top of the outside chicken coop. Today Uncle Cliff helped me stretch it out and get it stapled into place. It is so much easier and less hassle than using chicken wire....not to mention the savings in cost. Even if I replace it every 5 years, I'm still ahead to use the netting.
   I went grocery shopping at Wal-Mart today and stocked up on everything I should need for at least 2 weeks for under $50.00. That wasn't too painful. I spend more on livestock food than I spend on food for myself.
   Well, it's supposed to snow like the dickens tomorrow and Thursday. I will be very surprised if we get 6" of total accumulation. Then it is supposed to get cold for a week or so. Hopefully after that cold snap breaks it will be springtime around here and my flowers can start blooming.

Meet "Madison"

These are pics of my new cockerel. He is referred to as a cockerel and not a rooster because despite his size, he is less than 1 year old. He is a Marans, but because of his coloring he is known as a "Splash". I have named him "Madison". When bred with other pure colored Marans hens he will produce some AWESOME little chicks!
   The pigs have grown so much that they now eat 2 troughs full of food a day! My goodness! When we have these butchered it will be done a little different than last time. Instead of getting ground pork it will be 50% Italian breakfast sausage and 50% regular breakfast sausage. The bacon will be sliced 1/2 regular thickness and 1/2 thin, instead of all of it being sliced extra thick. Also, I anticipate the pork steaks lasting a little longer since they will be in my freezer under lock & key!
  The top netting for my outside chicken yard should arrive any day. I have 1 hen that keeps "flying the coop". This afternoon Tip & I are going to go to Tim Johnsons' house to pick up a whole bunch of 14"x14"x4" square pavers that I will use to make a footpath from the back porch to the shop. I walk there often enough that the grass is worn out and it has nearly turned into a muddy path.
   We are due for a significant snowfall later this week and into next week. Sometimes the forecast never materializes but I have a bad feeling about this one. I think we are in for one last blast of winter weather before Spring finally gets here.  That's O.K.. Lets get this done & over with so the rivers will get back into shape and the Spring Chinook fishing can start. By the time this snow event has passed and we have our little spring meltdown the fishing should be on!

Cold Morning

We got home with our new "fowl" yesterday. The baby chicks are cute as can be and the young Rooster is much bigger than I thought he would be. He has real big legs and feet so if he continues to grow into them, he will be quite large. He is "Splash" colored, meaning he is kinda white with dark splotches on him. I am hoping that he doesn't take too long to "get acquainted" with the hens. I want to start hatching some eggs in these incubators that Dutch brought down. I'm sure that as we gain more daylight he will feel the urge and I will soon have fertile hens.
   I need to go get some more pig and livestock feed today. Tip and I will go do that about 3:00 this afternoon. Tomorrow I go to the courthouse to have the facilitator read over all my divorce paperwork and make sure that everything is in order.

Gettin' Ready For Babies!

We'll be getting a few more new baby chickies tomorrow! Plus, Dutch brought down not one -- but 2 incubators yesterday, so hopefully I will be loading some fertile eggs into one of them this weekend also.
   Between the full moon and the solar explosions we sure had an eerie light going on between 3 & 4:30 this morning. It was actually quite bright outside all night last night. I watched a bunch of cottontails out running around in the yard last night. We must not have any owls in the neighborhood right now, or the bunnies would never get away with that!
  I made a crock-pot full of pork hocks and navy beans yesterday that sure turned out good. Other than that -- not much to report this morning. I'm looking forward to some warmer temps and I know that the tulips & daffodils are too cause they are all pushed up and ready to go into bloom. It won't be long and there will be spring color in the flowerbeds and Spring Chinook in the river!
  

More Smelt????

I have often been asked "When is the best time to dip smelt?" and with a lifetime -50 years- of experience behind me I say "If you had to figure on one weekend to dip smelt, it would be Presidents' Day weekend. Well, yesterday while I was in Kelso I noticed that there were a lot of seagulls looking for -- and getting -- smelt around the bridges. By the time I came home the gulls were working the river all the way to Lexington. Now, there have been smelt in the Cowlitz for the past 3 weeks, but I am thinking that we are about to get a real surge in the run. I noticed this morning that there are now gulls working the river right here at Castle Rock too. Another thing that I noticed yesterday after I got home was that the game warden was driving up & down Larsen Lane! For those of you who do not know, it is presently illegal to dip smelt, as they have been listed for protection under the Endangered Species Act. It will be interesting to see how this weekend develops, and if the smelt run will increase.

Wet And Cold

The day is starting out wet and cold. I do not look for any major change as the day progresses, unless it gets wetter and colder!
   I managed to get the chickens caught that I am giving away this morning. The rooster is not happy with his confinement and has been letting me know this since about 4:00 AM.
   The March job that I thought was "in the bag" has somehow eluded me...or so I was told yesterday. So now it is "back to the ol' drawing board" as they say. That's OK tho....today is a good day to work on re-building my resume. I do need to go to town and talk to Bank of America tho. They have sent me a bill on an account that has been closed for some time and I want the charges explained to me before I hand over my money. No doubt I will end up handing over my money, but at least I will know why.

Fewer Beaks To Feed

I placed an ad on Craigslist today to give away my 2 Polish, 2 Bantam, and 1 Silkie chickens. I had responses almost immediately and am now waiting for verification by phone so that I can catch them tonight and be assured that someone will come and get them tomorrow. These birds are not laying eggs and contribute nothing to my flock. It is time for them to go. In their place I will be getting a Splash Maran rooster this weekend as well as 3 more baby chicks from Pinkchick. I also have the 6 that I just moved to the other barn. I will continue getting birds from Pinkchick as the spring progresses. I have an order in for 1 dozen Blue Jersey Giant hatching eggs from a friend on BackYard Chickens. I also have 15 Blue Laced Red Wyandotte chicks that will arrive in mid-May.
   This is all not counting getting that incubator from Dutch Savage and hatching out some of Pinkchicks' eggs here at the house! Lemme do some math here...I presently have a dozen...plus the 3 in the other pen (15)...plus the 4 that I'll be getting this weekend (19)...a dozen hatching eggs from which I'm guessing 9 will hatch (28)...plus the 15 chicks that I have ordered from Meyer Hatchery(43)...and then whatever I hatch here with the incubator....yea, I'll have enough to develop a mid-size flock of good birds.
   If present outside conditions are any indicator, then the drought is over!

More Blustery Weather

Another blustery day today. Tip and I went to town this morning to get Tip her final puppy shot. Then we did some banking, went to the Social Security office, and finally to Petco -- where the pets go --.
   At Petco we got Tip a warm sweater, some chewie snacks, and a new toy. We also got a dozen small goldfish to put in the rain barrel that will keep mosquito larvae eaten and the water clean. Before coming home we stopped at Mucho Gracias for a couple of burritos. They sure do make good burritos there.
  Now it is cold, wet, and rainy. We are going to stay inside and do some housework this afternoon. Oh-yea...the 6 small chickens were doing real good this morning!

Wind and Rain

Well, we got the wind and rain yesterday that the meteorologists were predicting. Now this morning there is no rain at all showing on my radar screen, which is odd because we were supposed to get more rain today. I'm thinking that the radar might not be reading correctly at this time, since the screen is seldom as "blank" as it is this morning.
   Today I am going to move 6 smaller chickens into the pen that I just emptied out last week. I have had these 6 birds in a brooder box since January and they are rapidly out-growing it. I'm sure that they will be much happier in their new "digs".
   I finally eliminated another mole yesterday in one of my Vermin Retention Units. I was sure glad to get that rascal out of the yard!
Today is mostly going to be spent in the shop, cleaning out the old brooder box and setting up a new one for the next chicks that we will be getting. Tomorrow Tippy has an appointment with the vet to get her final puppy shot. Then I think that we will go shopping for a sweater for her. She was awful cold last night. Poor Doggie!

Ready For Rain

I cleaned out the cattle feeding area of the barn yesterday. That resulted in two pickup loads of manure, which I spread over the garden area. Now we are ready for rain. If I had not gotten this done, I would never have been able to back the truck into where I needed to go on wet ground. With this is all spread out on the garden area, the ensuing rains will wash all the "goodness" of the manure into the soil to the benefit of this years' garden. I am thinking that I will plant only Golden Jubilee corn this year. It is easy to care for and the patch of green will look cool. Any extra -- as well as all the stalks at the end of harvest -- will be eaten by the cows.
   The baby chick's are no longer baby chick's, but have turned into young pullets. I am needing to move them to a larger pen, but I really wanted to clean the larger pen out first and put down new sawdust. Maybe I can just put down new sawdust and clean it out later....

Haircuts

I got a Les Greene haircut yesterday and today Tip got her first haircut. The lady at the doggie haircut place said that she did real good with the bath and cut. Tippy is a very good dog. I really got lucky with getting her. Now, I'll try to post some pics....okay, so the pics are on top of  the writing, O.K.
   Last week I took an online test to be a contestant on  Jeopardy , the game show. now tonight I have to log on at 8:00 to take another test. I don't think I'll ever make it on the show, but at least I will have tried!
   I hauled the last of the large, bulky items from here that go to the county landfill over to 2278 Larsen Lane today. As I finish cleaning out the barn over there I will add to the pile and when everything is done, haul it away. I also went to the assessors office and the "mappers' office" today and learned a lot about these Larsen Lane properties and the boundaries. Good information from some very helpful people.

WOW!!! A Full Day

After feeding all the "critters" We finished cleaning up the new chicken pen and then started to move chickens. They were not real thrilled about the "catch and crate" part of the operation but they sure were happy with their new home.
   After lunch I went up and met with my tax prepares. That was a good meeting. I will be getting back over $600.00 this year! It will be the largest tax return of my life, I think. While in town I made an appointment to get my hair cut tomorrow morning and when I got home I made an appointment for Tip to get her first Schnauzer cut on Thursday. Later in the afternoon Ron Levang came down to finish up the work with the excavator. We got the 2 cottonwood trees felled that needed to come down, then we went to neighbor Janet's place and dug out 2 stumps for her. After that it was up the driveway at 2278 Larsen Lane to dig out the last 2 stumps that I needed removed from that property.
   During the course of the day I also got most of the weeping willow stump cut into firewood and also a bunch of wood scraps that were left where my old wood pile used to be.
  Last night for dinner I made some hamburger helper and it was so darn good that I'm going to make some more tonight to use up the rest of the burger...or maybe I'll just have some eggs...

Busy, Wet Day

We got a lot accomplished today, Tip & I did. I interviewed for -- and got -- a 3 week long 14 hrs. a day, 7 days a week job at the Weyerheauser mill in Longview. This will start March 1. The down side to this is that I will not be able to do ANY salmon fishing until the last week of March. Oh-well...I need the money more than I need the fish.
    We turned the taxes in to the tax-preparer today. I'll go up at 2:00 tomorrow to meet with her and sign papers. Got new ink cartridges for the printer today. Also re-stocked on grains for the livestock today. Got some house work done, got my cell phone "cleaned-up". It had something like 500 pics on it...and I don't ever take pics with it. They said that it was caused by carrying it in my pocket, so I got a snap-on side case for it. Paid the water bill, got some stamps, and got a latch for the new outside chicken yard.

Superbowl Sunday

Ron Levang came over this morning and dug the stump out from in front of the shop. Boy, that sucker was big! Then he went out to the pond and cleaned out the brush that we cut from the island last fall. I am very happy to have these things done.
   I waited impatiently for the Superbowl to start at 3:00. At 2:59 my neighbor fired up his muffler-less rototiller and began to rototill his large garden area. You know-- the one right next to my shop where I was wanting to watch the game. Then it started raining. He continued to rototill even in the rain. Finally I gave up and came into the house to watch the game in relative quiet on the small-screen. He stopped rototilling and went in.
  So now it is halftime and Green Bay is ahead 21-10, however, I called Dutch Savage to let him know that my team was winning and he says that Pittsburgh has been a come-from-behind team in most of their wins this season so the second half of this game could be interesting. One thing is for certain, the halftime entertainment sucked. I think Dutch will agree with me on that one.

Back To Wet

We have gone back to a little wet weather for a while. The new chicken pen is done, but I haven't put the birds in there yet. I may have to use it for a dog kennel next week if I start work right away.
   Ron Levang brought his excavator down today so we can get that Weeping Willow stump dug out and a couple of other small chores done that require hydraulic power. I've been feeding the pigs all the old canned food that was at 2278 Larsen Lane. They really seem to enjoy it and it makes the commercial food last a lot longer.
   The 6 small chickens that I have in the shop are all doing quite well. They are at a point in their growth where they look kinda' scraggly, but they will grow past that stage in a few weeks. My friend in Rose Valley (Pinkchick) hatched out a few babies yesterday with more to come. I am guessing that I will be getting new chicks sometime next week.

Takin' A Little Break

I haven't posted in a couple of days, I know....I'm hoping that moms' estate will be settled by the end of this month. I'm really ready to move on with my life and put this behind me.
   I think that I might be getting about 20 baby chickens sometime soon. Like maybe tomorrow! I am going to pick up some more big pieces of corrugated material tomorrow to make a brooder with. Then I need to order a dozen Blue Jersey Giant hatching eggs and have my friend from Rose Valley put those in her incubator for 21 days! In April I have about a dozen Blue Laced Red Wyandottes coming from Meyer Hatchery.
   I should be starting back to work next week so I have to really "get on the stick" and finish my chicken pen, plus I need to make accommodations for Tippy to stay while I am gone at work.
   I have noticed a marked increase in the number of eggs I am getting from my chickens. That is a good thing. I'm really hoping that Ron Levang would build a chicken pen so I can give Mary Weeks her Columbian Wyandottes, the 2 White Crested Black Polish, one Silkie, and 2 Banties that I have.