Earlier today, the Beast received an email telling him the chicks had been shipped out and we should receive them any time from Tuesday through Thursday, depending on our postal service. Since the box is labeled *Live animals* or some such thing, they get special handling so that they aren't thrown around (as much..lol). The post office here will call the Beast who will then have to go pick them up. I had to call them to ask where he would have to go to pick them up (at the regular mail window inside or the loading dock). The woman that answered the phone was very nice and kind and told me to just come inside and they would have them there when I explained what we were expecting. Now begins the wait.
The Beast started seriously setting up the box, including the watering dish and the feed dish (which has multiple little troughs). He also started clearing out the barn/shed and was shocked when the Princess told him that Johnnycakes (who was raised with chickens) had said the chicks will be just about full size in four to five weeks. That pushed the alarm for him since he had thought he would have a bit more time to prepare since the floor will need to be painted and sealed to prevent the boards from warping. He will have to use the hose to keep it clean. He also wants to drain and clean the algae out of the rain barrel since that water will be better to use for the chickens than the one we get that's chlorinated. There will be plenty of time for it to refill since, although we don't get much in the way of snow, we DO get rain in the *winter*.
It also means he has to make room in the garage (thinks *neaten*) for his John Deere. He intends to put some of the things he's stored in the barn into the cottage instead...which also means he will have to neaten THAT up. He'll be busy for a while but, strangely, he's looking forward to that.
Poor Chewlee was shocked to discover what it means to eat what you raise and/or hunt for from the next door neighbors at the new house. She ran into the house, horrified, and told her mother she had to come outside and look at something. Although her mother told her to just tell her since it was so cold outside (it was only in the mid-30's), Chewlee kept insisting she needed to come see. When she finally broke down and told her mother, she said it was just horrible. There was a chicken (or it could have been a duck that they had shot since they intended to go hunting for them), that had just been *torn to pieces* and nothing was left but the head.
The Princess laughed and told her that it was just their dinner that they had gotten ready to eat. I can almost see how horrified her face must have looked since only the *head* was left! Somehow, I don't think it ever occurred to her that it would be the fate of any chickens they ate. She said all the guts were gone and only the head was hanging there. She obviously thought that some wild animal must have gotten at it (not thinking that it was hanging up and no wild animal does that). She will be a country kid soon enough and face the realities of what living on their stock means. I hope the neighbors don't kill one of their cows where Chewlee will be able to see. That would probably produce a faint in the poor kid. Her dad is fully able to field dress a deer, I understand, from his father, who is very proud of that. It might turn her into a vegetarian.
I knew that my one cousin that lives in Texas has chickens because she is always posting pictures on FB of her chicken's eggs. She and her hubby own a ranch there. But I discovered that another cousin, in rural Indiana, also owns six chickens for the eggs they produce. She said that they are a *pain in the winter* but good for the eggs. I think that's because they get a lot of snow there, unlike our area of the country. If we get one decent snow day a year, that's about it. The Beast has decided to make a door that can be closed once the chickens are put to bed at night so that the raccoons and other critters are denied access to their coop. That was the suggestion of the Princess. The Beast had worried about that and had cleaned and oiled one of the smaller rifles (also put a different choke on it) to *discourage* any that came calling.
Around here, the sound of rifles being fired is not uncommon. The neighbor behind us has pretty much cleared out the squirrels that we used to see around here. I think they have pretty much either been shot (he likes squirrel stew) or have moved further away from our area. Can't say I blame them. However, we DO have raccoons (they always attack our grapes right around when they ripen) and they used to get into the bird feeder before the Beast built the special platforms for them.
Today was a really good day for me. I made some special apple rolls for us. It's an easy recipe using crescent rolls and they were delicious. We opted for TV dinners since we are trying to use up what we have had in our freezer before it gets freezer burn. Tomorrow I am making matzoh ball soup for us. We haven't had it in a while. I'm kind of hoping that Cee might like to stop by but I will call her in the morning and find out what she's doing, if anything. I always make enough for a crowd and the soup is no exception. Even if she just wants to take some home to eat later, that works for me. I hate having a lot of leftovers in my fridge.
I cleaned the vegetable drawers in the fridge while I was busy in the kitchen. I had a few things that needed throwing out since garbage is put out tomorrow for collection on Wednesday. I figured I might as well take care of that while I was busy doing other things. I still have a few things I need to get rid of in there but our garbage can in the kitchen was getting full. The Beast did put that out after dinner tonight so I have an empty container to work with in the morning.
Gunner was so cute when the Princess dropped over after taking Chewlee for her regular doctor's appointment. She's grown 3 inches in 3 months! I knew she had gotten taller just because her darn legs looked so much longer. She only gained 3 lbs, however, and could use a little bit more but that will come, hopefully. I don't think she will ever be chubby. She has a build much like her mother did at her age, perhaps just a tad thinner. I let her play her game on my computer while I played with Gunner. He was in such a cute mood. He wanted to sit in my lap and loved it when I held him on my hip. He told me *yes*, he wanted a cookie, when I offered him one. We were also snacking on pretzel rods and he just had to have some of that, too. The kid is an eating machine.
He got the darndest look on his face when he conned his mother out of part of her pretzel. I just had to laugh. He knew he was cute and he thought he was so smart to get it from her. Even she laughed because she had seen the look on him before. I hated to see them leave but the Princess had to get them home and get them fed and ready for bed. She just converted his crib to a youth bed and hated it. It means he's getting bigger and she hates to see that happen. But at least he isn't climbing out of his crib now and possibly falling from that high up. It also means it's easier for him to climb out of bed and head for Mommy's room. LOL! We've all been there.
I have a thought to share with you all that is close to my heart. I know how true this is from experience. It's a quote I took from the Positive Outlook blog. "In the blink of an eye, everything can change. So forgive often and love with all your heart. You may never know when you may not have that chance again." That's why I always say to be sure to tell those that you love and appreciate being in your life should be told that often. A simple *Love you!* is good if you are not used to saying it often. It could be the last thing you ever get to say to them. Let that be a good memory for you. Love you all. ***Hugs***
No comments:
Post a Comment