Blackbird said:
Hey Meriruka.. How are things? Haven't heard of you in a while.. Hope all is well.
Is that neighbor guy still pestering you? Do we need to grab our beatin' sticks and pay a visit?
I sort of went a little crazy when the weather got warm and there's been a frenzied burst of activity around here.
Here's a brief run-down:
Took down the garden fence, plowed the garden, spread some absurd amount of compost over it (something like 10 square yards, one wheelbarrow at a time), disked it, made my rows and put the fence back up. Moved & rebuilt the turkey run, cleared all the brush around the trees, raked up all the yard waste, raked out all the leaves off the flower beds & herb garden, have the burn barrel going non stop, painted the back of the barn, fixed the rain gutters, started my seedlings/transplants, divided my chickens by breed & filled up the incubator and got my very first turkey egg a few days ago.
The tom's technique has improved, he at least has learned to move hens' tails out of the way & does more then just stand on top of them. Haven't broken the egg to see if it's fertile, too busy admiring it. Nice of them to start laying after I stuff the 'bator with chicken eggs.
I scored a brand new, (still in the plastic) loveseat at an auction for $100. It stood in the kitchen for two days while I struggled to get the huge armchair it replaces up my narrow stairs to the spare bedroom. Got said armchair nicely wedged in the stairway. Nothing like a little mountain climbing in the morning to reach the coffee maker.
The loveseat looked nice for about 10 minutes until the cats found it, so now it's covered in an old quilt, probably never to see the light of day again. On occasion the cats will let me perch on a corner of it if they feel like curling up into balls instead of stretching out like jaguars on a warm boulder.
The neighbor has cooled his geriatric jets, without my having to really do anything. My guess is now that the weather is warm, his wife goes for walks at night and sometimes strolls up here & we chat for a while. He drove up one day while we were talking (the look of mortal fear on his face was priceless) and maybe it dawned on him that pursuing me is a bad idea. Anyway, he is back to being his usual nice guy self.
I'll try to post some fun pics later, I not only got my daffodils to grow but this year they stayed where I planted them. They usually end up in the neighbors cow pasture behind the electric fence. I went over there and got them back and of course got caught and had to convince him that no, RipVanWinkle daffodils are not indigenous to Virginia cow fields. This year I saved the receipts & pictures, but luckily have not had to produce evidence to retrieve the bulbs.
Time to go plant my potatoes.......
This year....I will take charge, and try to make sure if the hen is in distress....I will move in with a stick. I can't afford to lose another hen! For the most part tho, they SHOULD be fine. It looks WAY worse than it really is.
