Snow and Mud

Snow comes, melts, and becomes mud. Not just any mud, but this deep, slick, gawd-awful stuff that simply doesn't seem to dry out. My friends tell me that it actually bubbles up to the top...making it that much worse.

Part of my drive, and the path to my coop and run.

Slight incline I slide down each time I try to walk this area...see the slide mid picture.

Gracie doesn't care if it's mud or snow when it's time to play with Wilson.

 When I have to go anywhere, which isn't too often, I leave on the freeze. Driving through the mud is much easier when it's frozen. Sadly, I can't see well enough to drive after dark, so I can't come home on a freeze. I can drive in snow and ice, but this mud? It's terrifying! No control at all when the slide starts. I can actually be moving forward, and sliding sideways off the road at the same time. How the hell is that possible? lol

Gracie loves running in the snow, and will throw it at me with her snout!

I believe we got about 8" of snow this storm.

Behind my cabin.

Icicles on the shed.

Icicles on the cabin porch. These are pointing in towards the porch because snow is melting on the roof.

Beside my cabin.

I enjoy the snow. Gracie plays in it with great abandon! Me? I wander a bit, but have to be really careful...can't see the terrain under the snow, and falling becomes a very real possibility.

I brought the three baby chicks home. Two Buff Orpingtons, and a Black Australorp.

The babies inside the coop.

Eggs I found behind the big girls' temporary shelter.

The broody hen that sits on these eggs.

The chickens are doing well in the snow, and bitter cold. I brought home the younger hens, and have them separated from the big girls. I purposely chose breeds that would weather cold well...and they are. I give them a bit of cracked corn and millet at night to help keep them warm through the night. The two oldest are still laying eggs ...daily...through the cold weather, but have become quite possessive of them. They moved their nest to an area I can't access without climbing under the coop in the mud. One is quite broody, and sits on them throughout the day and night. I'm not pulling the eggs out at the moment, but will in the next day or so...on a freeze.

Snow, mud, and more snow...the cycle just continues as we wait for the next storm to hit.

Thanks for reading...

Rain, rain go away!

It's been rainy since last weekend. Aside from making a mess of the main road out of here, my driveway (around 300' or so) is a mud pit, and going anywhere is a tad...well...not safe (nearly slid off the side of the road down the hill), I can't work outside finishing up the hen house and run. I really don't have much more to do: cover roof with tar paper, edge with flashing, then put the roof on...easy peasy. The run already has the posts cemented in place, so all I need to do is put up the chicken wire, and fashion a simple gate into the run. I've decided to wait till Spring to whitewash the inside. I'm running out of time before 'real' winter weather hits.

My friend and I went to Albuquerque for a play day hittin' second hand stores, and to pick up more chicks. She found a lady in Albuquerque who breeds chicks all year long...has quite the set up there. Rose got 6 Buff Orpingtons, and I got 2 Buffs and one black Australorp. They're all 3 weeks old now, so Rose is keeping them in her house in my dogs old wire kennel. All 9 chicks fit just fine, and are growing fast...feathering out already. We're feeding non-GMO feed, fresh fruit/veggie scraps, and baby chick grit. They're flourishing! Sooooo...I need the room for them to all roam once they can be put outside. I know it'll be awhile just yet, but I need them secure for the winter. Next time I run up to Rose's, I'll snap some pics and post them.

Been going to doctor appointments this and last week...just establishing myself as a patient, but have some tests coming up that will put me away from home for a day here and there. The dreaded colonoscopy is one of them. Now...how does that relate to homesteading, alternative living, etc? Well...colonoscopy prep is just plain nasty...a thorough colon clean out. You get my drift? Well, I have a very simple composting toilet system...chuckles...a 5 gallon bucket with a toilet seat using coco-coir (coconut fibers).

The toilet is in the corner with white bucket next to it containing the coco-coir.

 I started off using sawdust but stopped when I found a Child of the Earth bug in my sawdust. They're not poisonous, but can make a stink, and give a nasty, painful bite. Yeah...not goin' there...thank you very much.

I'm telling you...the head on this thing was nearly the size of a small marble! I'm not having anything like that near my bum...lemme tell ya! One of my former students is off grid using a composting toilet, and he told me about the coco-coir...ordered...been using for a few weeks now. It's not quite as good at masking odors as the sawdust, but does the job well enough.

Anyway...using my little composting set up while doing the prep for the colonoscopy isn't ideal by any stretch of the imagination. I'll probably stay at the Bunkhouse, which has running water, regular toilet, etc. It'll be easier to deal with the prep that needs to be done.

I'm older than probably most people doing what I'm doing. I'll be 57 yrs. old next month, so I'll be dealing with things like this that the younger homesteaders aren't dealing with when using alternative systems within their homes. And...I'm single...so am doing this by myself as well. I also have some health issues that need to be considered.

Me (left) with my sisters...Middle sister, Jeanette, in the middle...Baby sis, Niecey, on the right.

Me...hosing down the GrandBabies :) in my Ma's front yard.

I'll be honest...I didn't think about this type of situation during my planning. I did consider the health issues, but didn't think a composting toilet would be an issue. Unfortunately, it is. As a result, I've decided to put in a simple septic system with a low flow toilet. Though this is my guest cabin, I'll be living in it till either next Spring or Spring 2017. It will cost less money to do this than to install a quality composting toilet, and finances are critical at this point...so have to be considered. I also had to consider guests, and their ability/willingness to deal with a composting toilet system responsibly, and the fact that my son and his family will eventually inhabit this cabin during visits...6 people using a composting toilet would be a nightmare.

Is this a compromise I'm comfortable with when considering earth friendly concerns? Yes and no. Yes, because it's more practical given my age, health issues, and guests who'll be staying in this cabin. No, because I'm not so clear on the long term consequences to the soil when one uses a septic system...even a simple, smaller one.

So...learning, learning, learning. I'm still waiting for the well driller to install my well pump, and have called several others for estimates. I'm fairly certain that it won't get done before winter hits hard...probably not till next Spring. It's all good...frustrating at times...tedious at others (particularly with dishwashing and showers), but doable none-the-less. All part of the process...yes?

Ciao

 

Hen House II

So...my son and I built the hen house, and I've been working on finishing it. I got really sick with bronchitis and a sinus infection...put me down for a couple weeks, so I've been playing catch up with work on the coop.

I used an oil based Kilz on it to protect the wood. That stuff is amazing! Dried, it left a sort of rubbery textured coating on the outside walls.

Trim and edging completed.

Trim and edging.

All done!

Kilz all done.

Time to add the color! My daughter in law, Dia, decided it should be turquoise...so...turquoise it is!

Trim and didn't need to edge as the roller covered that beautifully.

Coop painted!

Window covering and lid to nest boxes. It'll be roofed with the roofing material, so isn't completely painted...just edged.

All done...ready to apply wire at the top around the vent area.

 So...the blue tarped structure in front of the hen house is/was the chicks temporary structure. I used things on hand to set it up in June...a large dog enclosure surrounded with chicken wire buried about a foot to stop digging predators, chicken wire across the top, and tarped for shade. I placed a smallish pet carrier inside for some type of housing for the two hens, and space for them and their food and water.

Well...it was seriously in the way while all of this work was being completed...so I took a day to enclose underneath the coop. Moving the chicks was the most difficult part...lol...the larger one is a tad aggressive...snot! But they were moved so I could take down the initial temporary structure, and finish work on their permanent home.

Chicks under the coop.

Enclosure under coop.

Happy chickies!

Tarped construction taken apart and straw placed in compost.

I decided that I need to get some flashing, roofing paper, and canned insulation before putting the roof on top. Have to drive 2 hrs to closest Home Depot or Lowe's, and haven't had a chance to do that just yet...maybe this weekend. Once that's acquired and in place, I can put roof on top of coop, whitewash (I found a simple, safe lime wash to use) the inside. It has to be secure from rain/snow before I whitewash...so...figuring out when to do each step is critical. Then I can enclose the run, and cut the chicks loose.

Currently, I only have the two Rhode Island Reds...my first...*whispers* I don't like them. I got three of them the end of May, but lost one of the chicks early on. I prefer Wyandottes, Buff Orpingtons, and Australorps. I'll acquire some pullets this month...once the run is completed, and a few more next Spring.

I've been feeding them a non-GMO feed, and I have to say these are the healthiest chickens I've ever had!

Thanks for reading...

Ciao

Chicken Coop

When my son and his family came for a visit in August, they gifted me with work days...asking what I wanted done. lol...Really? Anything at all, they replied. Really? lol...Ok then. I want to build my hen house, line the drive with stones (tons and tons all around the property), and have a trench dug on one side of top drive area.

We worked our butts off, and man, oh man did they kick it! Tommy and I (with some help from dil Dia) built the hen house. It's very similar to the one I had in Illinois, but on a larger scale.
 

My handsome son getting ready to cut the wood.

We worked all of one day, and part of another to do all this, but it got done! They literally saved me...easily?...a month or more of work doing it all by myself. Needless to say, I was thrilled, and beyond grateful for their help.

Prep work: I dug the holes, and Tommy and I cemented the the 4"x4" base posts in place.

Beginning building the coop on stilts!

Tommy adding walls to the coop.

The finished coop with temp chick quarters in front (covered by tarp).

I have some water run-off issues when it rains. Mostly it's pretty minor, but with a 200' slope top to bottom of my property, there are bound to be a few problem areas. The driveway is one of those areas. So, I'm hoping the stones, and trenches dug here will help with some of that as it crosses the driveway.

Beautiful job lining part of the drive with stones...kind of between upper and lower drive areas.

More stone work!

Thankfully, I have a LOT of stones on my property!

At the curve on lower half of drive.

Upper drive trench.

We all worked hard, and got a lot done. Even my 3 yr. old GrandBoy dug trenches (aka holes), and moved rocks! The kids were troopers!

A restful moment in the shade.

Chillin'.

 It was a fun day.

Ciao