Bruce's Journal

Missed basically all of it here. It passed just south of me and built north and east after passing. Didn't even really register in the rain gauge. Plenty chilly here though, and I drove through some serious T-storms coming back from Shreveport and the VA Yesterday. The wind was howling last night. Had Mel up and barking most of the night. Guess with all the noise he was nervous and hearing things. Would have been a perfect time for a coyote attack... I went out a couple times before bed to blowing snow flakes. By midnight, the sky was crystal clear and stars shining bright.

It got cold here last night with blowing wind. The power went out. We got flashlights and called the power company, estimated time to lights was 10:15. That was 2 1/2 hours away. We turned off the flashlight and looked out the window, which surprisingly was fairly light outside. At least enough to see the treeline against the sky. it got late, we called again and the new time was 11:00 PM. At 10:59 the lights came on, so we turned them OFF and went to bed. Going to be 21 degrees tonight......I do not know the joy of -10 or -20 and hope I never do!

No big excitement. Eos (2015 EE) has laid 2 eggs in the last 3 days and Veronica (Welsummer) laid one yesterday. That is good, poor Trill needs the help, she shouldn't have to carry the entire load on her own.

This afternoon in the barn I noticed that the bottom strap of Teddy's halter had come undone. I left their halters on after shearing them in the spring EXPECTING to get back and do their toe nails. Still haven't done that. But I figured it wasn't good to have a loose halter on him so I took them off both boys. Teddy was a bit easier once I had my hip up against him and his butt and other side were up against Laddie who was up against a wall at that point. After I took his halter off I stroked his back and neck. Not sure he was enjoying it but didn't fight. Then I had to catch Laddie. He wasn't as docile, sounded like he was planning to spit though he never did. Got my hip on him up against the closed stall door and got his halter off. Stroked him some as well, he was less "not unhappy" sounding but didn't fight. While that sounds positive, I'll bet they head out the door ASAP when I go back to the barn tomorrow and approach the gate to put water in their bucket and refill their hay feeders.

I counted the chickens this afternoon when closing up. I always do that in the summer but since the birds don't like the snow and stay in the barn, I've not done it every afternoon lately. Good thing I did count, no Betty (Welsummer). I went out and looked behind the barn thinking she might be wandering around the area I have to blow to get the garden tractor turned around to go back uphill between the barns. She wasn't there but she was standing (not happily) on a 90°ell on a vertical piece of 4" sewer pipe that had been removed from the house that is right behind the big barn about 20' from the barn corner. She was about 6" above the snow. There were NO chicken footprints (or those of any other animal for that matter) leading to the pipe. This means she must have flown there for some reason only known to her tiny chicken brain. It does look like there are some "wing beat" patterns in the snow, I guess from landing or keeping her balance. I walked down the alpaca path then 8' through the 8" deep snow across to where she was. She let me pick her up and carry her back to the barn. I'm sure she would not have been happy to be locked out of the barn all night. Though .... if she decided to get off her perch and go to the barn, she is one of the 2017 chicks and would probably try to go through the alpacas' door IF she managed to fly/trudge 50' down the alpacas' path to the north end of the barn.

Glad ya got Betty back in the barn!

We have one rooster that decided to roost outside the other night when it got down to 7 degrees and he has some serious frostbite.

Sorry about your rooster's frostbite. Hopefully he learned his lesson. Just because he lives in the south doesn't mean it is always warm! Which is something I've learned from you Southern folks and your weather this winter

I don't think Betty actually wanted to be where I found her. Also didn't know how to get back without walking in the snow. I am really surprised she managed to get as far as she did without touching snow, I'll try to remember to take my camera out in the morning.

Good thing for Betty that you counted heads!

That is something I do many times in a days time, is head counts.....goats and ducks are fairly easy, but them danged chickens are hard to catch all together at one time in one place throughout the day.....course they are the only ones that are true "free-range"....the ducks are inside fence all day. Sure glad ya was able to rescue her from herself and her bad decisions....

Pictures of "Betty's perch". Close up (with "wing prints" I THINK) and from the corner of the barn. It is that black thing near the second window.


And the wild rabbit feeding station, close up and from a distance. The rabbit sometimes comes/goes down the path or through the cattle panel left of the "station" ... and poop. For a small animal they sure poop a lot, or there is more than one. The gate in the second picture ends at the lower right of the second picture above.


Moved more wood onto the porch today, now have about 1.5 cords there, should be enough to get to the end of February even if I don't have decent weather to bring more in.

@Bruce I thought of you this morning when gathering eggs. I got ONE egg from 30 laying hens! I know two more were laid in a pen of 7 hens but one is cracking them. I’ve got to get a plan to separate them until I find the culprit to send to freezer camp! I’ve also got two molting and two that haven’t laid in months but they are from my first set and let the kids carry them so they get to eat and hang around. Still...you’d think I’d end up with more than one egg to bring in!