Storm Cleanup

Remember the storms of leap day? We've been cleaning up from that mess ever since. It's gotten much, much worse before it can get better. This elm tree had a branch of about 10" diameter that hung over our roof, rubbing it and posing danger should there be an ice storm that caused it to break free of the tree. I wanted to just cut off that limb, but if we cut it off the limb beside it would also die because of they way they were joined, and if they both died the entire tree would no longer be viable, and at best we might nurse it along for another ten years or so. For these reasons we decided to go ahead and take the entire tree out. We were not happy to do so at all, but felt there was no use in putting off the inevitable. In the end we are very glad we did. When Wayne cut it, he hit a very large bolt. It is at least six inches long. Apparently the tree split early in it's life, and rather than take it out, it's owners decided to bolt it together. The wood of that interior portion was rotten. Many of the limbs were also rotting from the inside out. Here is is before we cut it. I nearly cried when I counted it's rings. This tree was about 120 years old!

Next to be addressed was the ominous tree to the west of our house. You remember the one with the very large rotten place at it's base? It is now on the ground, much to my relief!

The dark core you see is completely rotten. That tree was a crushed house waiting to happen!

What's worse, the bug damage you see is on the west side of the tree, making it that much more of a threat to our home. I didn't count the rings on this one. I'm not one bit sad it's gone. Well, maybe just a teensy bit. It did shade the west side of the house.

Here you can see how close it was to the house as well as gain proportion to how big it was.

Finally, the ash tree that split during the leap day storm. It was a lovely tree. I'm still astounded that it had to go. I never dreamed we would be without it.

Our place seems quite bare now, though there is still a LOT of cleanup work to be done. We are plugging away at it each afternoon. It will be so nice to have all the wood stacked and ready for winter, and the brush cleaned up!

St. Patrick's Day Kids!

Perle delivered two bucklings and one doeling on March 17th. It was a difficult delivery. I knew for a couple of days that something wasn't right, but hoped that Perle would be able to get them straightened out. She did lots of stretching and getting up and down. When she finally had them one of the bucklings was in the birth canal the entire time the other two were being born. I ended up having to pull him, and he was upside down and backwards! When the first kid started to emerge there were three feet showing. I was trying not to enter her if at all possible, so I just watched and encouraged her. When that kid was born one of the feet was still there! I watched and waited for 20 minutes before calling my more experienced friend. She didn't answer the phone. I waited ten more minutes before calling another friend who is also more experienced. She said, "If it's been 30 minutes, you've gotta get that baby out NOW." I hung up the phone, told Wayne what she'd said and that I needed him to hold her head, and poured providone on my hands. I turned around to Perle and there was a kid on the ground, still in the sac! I said, "Sweet! She's done it on her own!" Then I looked up and said, "No!!! That foot is still there!" I hurriedly cleared the second kid's face of the sac and proceeded to work on getting the stuck kid out. At first I couldn't find any parts because he was so high inside her. I decided to wash off the exposed foot and push it back inside. When I did that he put the two feet together and I was able to begin pulling. It was HARD WORK! I was sore for two days afterward. I don't know how long it took to actually get him out, but it felt like about 30 minutes more. When I finally got him out he was so long and thin. I thought he was dead, but I was clearing his face anyway and I felt his heartbeat! I began to swing him as my training had shown me how to do, and it worked! He was not one bit impressed by it all, but he was breathing. It took him a good two hours to be able to stand on his own, where the others were up in five minutes, but now you would never guess there were any problems at all! I was calling the boy who had to be pulled Scooter for the first couple of days, and then Wayne decided that the boys should be named Thunder and Lightening. The little girl is still nameless. I'm working on it. I want to give her an authentic Irish name since she was born on St. Patrick's day.

This is Thunder.

Perle and Scooter/Lightening having a heart-to-heart talk.

Our as-yet unnamed doeling catching some zzz's.

Scooter getting a little nip. I LOVE the heart on his side! He is the prettiest baby born to my herd so far.

Perle and all her darlings getting ready a nap.

New Life, Hope, and Moving On

After the horrible storms of February 29th, I was blessed to discover a sign of new hope:

On an emotional level (as opposed to a rational one) Cochins are my all time favorite breed of chicken. They are so calm and friendly. Even as chicks I can tell a difference between them and other breeds I've raised. I think they are adorable with their fluffy butts and feathered feet. They remind me of antebellum girls at a ball.

The primary reason I have only ever had one or two at a time is because you typically have to buy them straight run. I do not wish to have half a flock of roosters, thankyouverymuch! I have never, ever seen Cochins for sale sexed.

However, on Friday, March 2nd I was at the feed store, which just happened to have silver laced Cochin pullets. Of course, I couldn't resist! I am thrilled to report that they are all alive and well. They are beginning to feather out, so I thought I needed to post some pictures before they enter their gawky adolescent stage.

I have to clean out and refill their water dispenser twice a day because they kick the paper shreds into the trough until it is completely full!
I love it, though! Raising chicks is one of the most fun parts of homesteading.

In Like a Lion?

This is what I woke up to on Wednesday morning, February 29th. Tornadoes and straight line winds ripped through SW Missouri last night. Notice the goat shed we built in the fall? It's upside down and blown into the fence. No goats were harmed. It was still in the garden spot, but they were moved back to their lean-to at the barn with it's adjoining bit of pasture a couple months ago.

I'm very sad about this one. I absolutely loved that we had a working cistern with a pump on our back patio. The way the handle is broken, I don't know if it is repairable or not. (Not to mention the repurposed gym light glass/mini greenhouse being broken. THAT will be fun to remove from my whiskey barrel planter, won't it!)

This is the north side of that massive limb that is taking up most of the back yard. We had no idea there was a bad spot in this tree. The limb grew out sideways and was perfect for Wayne to hang deer on for skinning. The damage to the tree is so bad that the whole tree will have to be taken out.
Here is a long shot so you can see the whole back yard.

This tree sits immediately west of the house. It has made me nervous since we bought the place. I am SOOO thankful that it didn't come down on the house! See that huge limb that is caught in the tree? We will definitely be removing that limb and as much else as we can reach. I REALLY want the whole tree out, but it's going to take a skilled woodsman to get it down without hitting the house, other trees, or the electric lines.

I'm sad for the woodpeckers who called this tree home. I've wondered what made our place special enough to host them, never dreaming it was the very tree that gave me so much worry each time it stormed.

Here is the west side of the tree with the huge limb trapped. That will be fun to get out, huh? We have big plans for cleanup this weekend!

I received an e-mail asking about how the handle to the pump got broken. Maybe you couldn't see in the first picture, but a large limb from a cedar tree fell on it and then blew over. I think it's more visible from this angle.

Update

Well folks, it's been a LONG time since I did a post. Teaching a grades two through five class and rushing home to do chores, cook from scratch as much as possible, and stay up on things like making soap leaves little time for the blog. I could keep up better if we had Internet access at home, but we don't. I only have it on my cell phone, which doesn't work as well as I'd hoped for blogging. Anyhow, I wanted to let you know what's been going on.

The biggest news on the homestead is about the goats. I currently have a herd of eight. There are four boys and four girls. :-) My boys are all wethers, and three of them need new homes desperately. Perle is due to kid in March, Sassy, her daughter is due in April, and then we have a long wait. Twilight and Miracle have had a hard time "settling" this time. I took them both to be bred only to have them come into heat again after we were back home. It doesn't take long for this routine to get old. Now they are at the home of their chosen bucks to stay for a month. Fingers are crossed that they will come home thoroughly impregnated with multiple kids! :-) I don't think it's a problem with the girls fertility, but with their owner's observation skills. When I do chores in the dark both morning and night, it's really hard to discern when they are in heat, even when I'm trying my best to pay attention to such things. If everything works out Miracle and Twilight will both kid in June. I am not thrilled about them kidding so late in the year, but it sure beats a year with no kids. :-)

Like all homesteaders, my thoughts have turned toward the garden. I am so anxious to get started with it! I have learned that having the garden in the location of last year's chicken pen is the BEST way to do it! The things I planted at that location grew wonderfully, had virtually no pests, and the location was almost weed free. The few weeds that did appear were very easy to pull from the loose, rich soil. With that in mind, my garden spot is going to be about one third the size I've had in years past. I am going for excellence over quantity. I think if I have a smaller plot that mostly consists of the area the chickens have occupied I will have an excellent garden spot that will produce more per square foot than the huge garden that is an all out war with Bermuda grass and other weeds. My thoughts are about what I really want to grow, because with the smaller plot comes cuts in the availability of space to grow veggies. I will definitely not have as many of any one variety of plant, but I will also have to limit the number of varieties of plants I grow.

My chickens are doing better than ever. Dare I say I've got this chicken thing down? My flock size has held steady for several months, despite the hawks I frequently see and the owl who roosts in our barn. They are healthy and attractive. Laying is almost at a standstill. The only eggs I've gotten have been from the banties for the past six weeks or so. I am not unhappy with that, though, because I want my chickens to lay according to their biological signals as much as possible, and our winter has been mild enough that I haven't needed to use a heat lamp on them, so their bodies are getting a much needed break from production. I hope to see them start laying in a month or so. I also want to add more birds to the flock this spring. I really want Golden Laced Wyandottes, but I don't know if that will be an option. I love the consistency of the banties for laying, but I would like to have eggs to sell, and for that I think most people are going to want eggs from standard sized chickens. I also want to increase my flock size so that they can prepare more ground for planting next year. :-P

Spring is just around the corner, and I'm ready for it!!!