Been a while since I wrote on here, so let me try to catch up.
One week ago. Took 3 of the chicks we hatched in January back to school a week ago. The kids loved them, they got to hold them and pet them. The ones that weren’t afraid of them any way. It was really an experience for them. Even some of the teachers and staff loved it, lol. Was interesting. Have 12 geese eggs in the incubator right now. The turkeys haven’t started laying yet, but hoping will have turkey eggs to incubate soon. Have 33 chickens we hatched in January, and all of the roosters are destined for the freezer or the canning jar in about 2 months.
Thursday night I took some of the chicks outside and put them in a pen outside our window. It was on the West side of the house and got the afternoon sun. I put a light in it and put up some blankets to form an area that was warmer. We put blankets over the sides and closed it in really well. I put half the chicks out there, the ones we think are roosters. They spent 2 nights out there and seemed to do alright. One of the problems was it didn’t get any sun until afternoon and another was only half the chicks were in it.
So today we moved the mini-coop from the garden out to the field beyond. I cleaned the area up and Jeanne helped me move the big pen and set it up. Then we moved the mini-coop and placed it next to the pen. I cut a new hole in the fence and stapled it to the side of the mini-coop. Because the problem we had last year was the chicks were either in the coop or in the pen. But now I can open the mini-coop and just leave it when we go to work, and the birds can come out when they want to.
I was hoping to get out in the garden and till up some of it so I can plant stuff soon. I have a few plants started in the house. The Broccoli and the lettuce didn’t sprout very well. The Thyme did really well, and I only got 2 Rose Mary plants. I still need to start more plants inside for the garden. I also need to get the seed for the field to grow clover.
I did a pre-screening interview for teaching positions with Springfield Public Schools, the other day and think I did pretty well. The next round on internal transfers begins 15 March, when positions get posted. They have to be up for 10 days, and then on 26 March, schools can begin interviewing. My name is in the hat for any positions I am qualified for, I don’t need to do anything. I just need to check out the positions and prepare for interviews. In the first round, there were 3 science positions. So either they are still open, or they got filled and now there are open positions where those people came from. So there are positions available, and chances are there could be additional ones also. One of them is with at risk kids. and I think I could enjoy working there, and have a real shot at making a positive difference in their lives. So now, just kind of wait and see what happens.
Oh, and in case you heard about our tornadoes. We did have one a few miles down the road from our place and one person died. Several mobile homes were destroyed, and Buffalo was with out power for 2 days. We never even lost power at our place. Got woke up by the rain and the wind, but no damage near us. The plastic lawn chair in the yard didn’t even get blown away.
Last week. We started putting the puppies in the chicken coop to sleep at night, and then they hang out in the chicken yard with them all day. Bear sleeps under the nest boxes and Nikita sleeps just inside the door. We have the light set to provide light until about 830pm each day, so we put them out in the coop a little after 8 each night. That gives the birds enough time to settle down for the night after we put them away, and then the pups go in and lay down for the night. Has worked pretty well so far. We are betting that by growing up with the birds, they will be less inclined to chase them or kill them. We know there could be accidents, and think we are prepared to accept those. We have been reading books on training dogs and ways to train Pyrenees especially, and how to work with birds. Did a lot of research on the tying the dead bird around their necks thing, and in my opinion it is the best way to go. And I’m trying to take a different view of training the dogs and how they see things and feel about stuff, and how they learn. So far the pups have been great. Mom has been the issue. Jeanne caught her chasing the birds one day, and she had Brownie pinned down and was playing with her. Bit all her tail feathers off, and lost some of her wing feathers, but there wasn’t a scratch on the bird. Now she just looks funny with no tail.
Stopped collecting the goose eggs. We have 7 in the incubator and 4 in the hatcher. Those 4 should start hatching Monday or Tuesday. Then 3 next week and 4 the weeks after that. There are 5 eggs in the nest in the coop now. She sits in them every night, but gets off them in the day time. That is the way geese do it. And so each evening, I have to go in and reach under her to get the chicken eggs, because she moved form the nest she built into the dog carrier I put out there and now the chickens all lay in her nest. We only got 2 eggs today, and 6 yesterday, 5 the day before. Not sure what the deal is. And we got our first egg from Edith today. Not sure what I’m going to do with it. I put it in the closet and will see if we get many more.
Bought 3 rose bushes and some herbs. Planted the roses in pots in the living room. Will grow them there for a while and then plant them in the yard when the weather has warmed up. Also started some seeds. I put some in the other day and they are in little pots now. Filled up the starter tray last night with cabbage, broccoli, beets, 2 kinds of lettuce, egg plants, cilantro, marigolds and some other flowers. Then today I cleaned all the plants under the stands in the house and got them organized. They were all covered with this fine, white dust film from having the baby chicks in the house. I also tilled up the garden some, set up 3 raised beds and burned most of the dead blackberry stalks and such. Jeanne helped me pick the plants out of the tilled areas. Didn’t plant anything outside yet. The peacocks came in the garden and “helped” me. The alternated between pecking at my fingers and the weeds I was pulling. Every now and then one of them would grab a weed and run with it. Other times they’d get my fingers. Not sure what it is about fingers, but they seem to love them.
The baby chicks are doing fine, and 33 is just about the limit of that small coop. The pen isn’t too big for them either. I need to take some of the new fencing out and fence off an area around the cage they can get to when we are home. They are still vulnerable to attack from the air by hawks or eagles or owls even. We also go some clover seed and I spread it in the field. We got 5 pounds at MFA today, and I broadcast it by hand just before dark to night. The seed looked like it was treated, or covered with something that should help it grow better, or maybe just make the seed bigger and easier to handle. At any rate, I waited until just before dark to lessen the chances of birds or something eating the seed. It is supposed to rain tonight, quite a bit, and so my the morning I hoping the seed will be worked at least to the ground layer and maybe less visible to animals. And the rain should help it to get started growing. We are expecting some warm weather the next week, with days in the 70’s and night in the upper 40’s to lower 50’s. 10th of March and not sure if we’ve seen our last frost or not. We got a good one Wednesday and Thursday night. Got down to 28 one night and 31 the other. Those were the first freeze we’ve had in a week or more. And no more are in the forecast right now.
This week the jobs get posted for internal transfers at work. And yes, I am very excited about it.
The Oscars have been acting like they are wanting to nest, or breed. They keep clearing out the gravel from around a rock I placed at the bottom for just such a reason. But the Pleco fish keep harassing them. Think the Pleco would eat the eggs given the chance and the Oscars couldn’t stop them. So I’m going to measure and see if I can get something to separate the tank and put the Plecos on one side the Oscars on the other. Haven’t decided what to do about pools outside this summer, but the plan is to turn the old pool into a fish pond and put the large Pleco in it. Think he’d be good in the tank the birds drink out of, just not sure what I’d do with him in the winter.
One week ago. Took 3 of the chicks we hatched in January back to school a week ago. The kids loved them, they got to hold them and pet them. The ones that weren’t afraid of them any way. It was really an experience for them. Even some of the teachers and staff loved it, lol. Was interesting. Have 12 geese eggs in the incubator right now. The turkeys haven’t started laying yet, but hoping will have turkey eggs to incubate soon. Have 33 chickens we hatched in January, and all of the roosters are destined for the freezer or the canning jar in about 2 months.
Thursday night I took some of the chicks outside and put them in a pen outside our window. It was on the West side of the house and got the afternoon sun. I put a light in it and put up some blankets to form an area that was warmer. We put blankets over the sides and closed it in really well. I put half the chicks out there, the ones we think are roosters. They spent 2 nights out there and seemed to do alright. One of the problems was it didn’t get any sun until afternoon and another was only half the chicks were in it.
So today we moved the mini-coop from the garden out to the field beyond. I cleaned the area up and Jeanne helped me move the big pen and set it up. Then we moved the mini-coop and placed it next to the pen. I cut a new hole in the fence and stapled it to the side of the mini-coop. Because the problem we had last year was the chicks were either in the coop or in the pen. But now I can open the mini-coop and just leave it when we go to work, and the birds can come out when they want to.
I was hoping to get out in the garden and till up some of it so I can plant stuff soon. I have a few plants started in the house. The Broccoli and the lettuce didn’t sprout very well. The Thyme did really well, and I only got 2 Rose Mary plants. I still need to start more plants inside for the garden. I also need to get the seed for the field to grow clover.
I did a pre-screening interview for teaching positions with Springfield Public Schools, the other day and think I did pretty well. The next round on internal transfers begins 15 March, when positions get posted. They have to be up for 10 days, and then on 26 March, schools can begin interviewing. My name is in the hat for any positions I am qualified for, I don’t need to do anything. I just need to check out the positions and prepare for interviews. In the first round, there were 3 science positions. So either they are still open, or they got filled and now there are open positions where those people came from. So there are positions available, and chances are there could be additional ones also. One of them is with at risk kids. and I think I could enjoy working there, and have a real shot at making a positive difference in their lives. So now, just kind of wait and see what happens.
Oh, and in case you heard about our tornadoes. We did have one a few miles down the road from our place and one person died. Several mobile homes were destroyed, and Buffalo was with out power for 2 days. We never even lost power at our place. Got woke up by the rain and the wind, but no damage near us. The plastic lawn chair in the yard didn’t even get blown away.
Last week. We started putting the puppies in the chicken coop to sleep at night, and then they hang out in the chicken yard with them all day. Bear sleeps under the nest boxes and Nikita sleeps just inside the door. We have the light set to provide light until about 830pm each day, so we put them out in the coop a little after 8 each night. That gives the birds enough time to settle down for the night after we put them away, and then the pups go in and lay down for the night. Has worked pretty well so far. We are betting that by growing up with the birds, they will be less inclined to chase them or kill them. We know there could be accidents, and think we are prepared to accept those. We have been reading books on training dogs and ways to train Pyrenees especially, and how to work with birds. Did a lot of research on the tying the dead bird around their necks thing, and in my opinion it is the best way to go. And I’m trying to take a different view of training the dogs and how they see things and feel about stuff, and how they learn. So far the pups have been great. Mom has been the issue. Jeanne caught her chasing the birds one day, and she had Brownie pinned down and was playing with her. Bit all her tail feathers off, and lost some of her wing feathers, but there wasn’t a scratch on the bird. Now she just looks funny with no tail.
Stopped collecting the goose eggs. We have 7 in the incubator and 4 in the hatcher. Those 4 should start hatching Monday or Tuesday. Then 3 next week and 4 the weeks after that. There are 5 eggs in the nest in the coop now. She sits in them every night, but gets off them in the day time. That is the way geese do it. And so each evening, I have to go in and reach under her to get the chicken eggs, because she moved form the nest she built into the dog carrier I put out there and now the chickens all lay in her nest. We only got 2 eggs today, and 6 yesterday, 5 the day before. Not sure what the deal is. And we got our first egg from Edith today. Not sure what I’m going to do with it. I put it in the closet and will see if we get many more.
Bought 3 rose bushes and some herbs. Planted the roses in pots in the living room. Will grow them there for a while and then plant them in the yard when the weather has warmed up. Also started some seeds. I put some in the other day and they are in little pots now. Filled up the starter tray last night with cabbage, broccoli, beets, 2 kinds of lettuce, egg plants, cilantro, marigolds and some other flowers. Then today I cleaned all the plants under the stands in the house and got them organized. They were all covered with this fine, white dust film from having the baby chicks in the house. I also tilled up the garden some, set up 3 raised beds and burned most of the dead blackberry stalks and such. Jeanne helped me pick the plants out of the tilled areas. Didn’t plant anything outside yet. The peacocks came in the garden and “helped” me. The alternated between pecking at my fingers and the weeds I was pulling. Every now and then one of them would grab a weed and run with it. Other times they’d get my fingers. Not sure what it is about fingers, but they seem to love them.
The baby chicks are doing fine, and 33 is just about the limit of that small coop. The pen isn’t too big for them either. I need to take some of the new fencing out and fence off an area around the cage they can get to when we are home. They are still vulnerable to attack from the air by hawks or eagles or owls even. We also go some clover seed and I spread it in the field. We got 5 pounds at MFA today, and I broadcast it by hand just before dark to night. The seed looked like it was treated, or covered with something that should help it grow better, or maybe just make the seed bigger and easier to handle. At any rate, I waited until just before dark to lessen the chances of birds or something eating the seed. It is supposed to rain tonight, quite a bit, and so my the morning I hoping the seed will be worked at least to the ground layer and maybe less visible to animals. And the rain should help it to get started growing. We are expecting some warm weather the next week, with days in the 70’s and night in the upper 40’s to lower 50’s. 10th of March and not sure if we’ve seen our last frost or not. We got a good one Wednesday and Thursday night. Got down to 28 one night and 31 the other. Those were the first freeze we’ve had in a week or more. And no more are in the forecast right now.
This week the jobs get posted for internal transfers at work. And yes, I am very excited about it.
The Oscars have been acting like they are wanting to nest, or breed. They keep clearing out the gravel from around a rock I placed at the bottom for just such a reason. But the Pleco fish keep harassing them. Think the Pleco would eat the eggs given the chance and the Oscars couldn’t stop them. So I’m going to measure and see if I can get something to separate the tank and put the Plecos on one side the Oscars on the other. Haven’t decided what to do about pools outside this summer, but the plan is to turn the old pool into a fish pond and put the large Pleco in it. Think he’d be good in the tank the birds drink out of, just not sure what I’d do with him in the winter.
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