Boys will be boys!

There has been a long-held belief, that up until now has remained unproven. This unexplained phenomenon is not limited to culture, geographic region, or economic status.

What is the hypothesis that I now have irrefutable evidence to prove true?

 Little boys never grow up.

Last Saturday, my sister called me from The Habitat for Humanity ReStore, she said that the Store had just received a donation of several Rubbermaid stock tanks, and they were selling them for $20 each! The tanks had been used by a local company that makes concrete sculptures, and they would need a good cleaning, but were otherwise in good shape. I jumped at the chance. New, Large stock tanks can run about $100- $150 dollars and, even though I didn't have an immediate need for one, they have endless uses here on the farm. I asked her to buy 3 of them for me.

I picked up the tanks, and since the weather was nice, I started power washing them right away.

As I was washing the tanks, I noticed that my 87-year-old father-in-law, Fred, was intently watching me work. When I looked at him questioningly, he sheepishly asked , "Can I try that?"

"Sure!" 

So I handed him the pressure washer wand and walked away for a while to let him work. When I returned several minutes later, I couldn't help but notice that he was still focused on the same small area that he was working on when I left. OMG, I thought, this will take for-ev-er. I then took a closer look at his work.......

I started to giggle and shook my head as I saw the proud grin on his face.

So, you see, it's true, boys never grow up. Give a boy a wand of any sort, and they are going to write their name on something.

Kinder, gentler Chicken Math

Some of you may be wondering, where was the Chicken Math this year? Yes, my friends, there has been an inexcusable absence of Chicken Math. The spring was fraught with family emergencies of one type or another, leaving us with little time for, well, anything, let alone new chicken acquisition. I ended up picking up a couple of chicks here and there. You may remember, in April I got a few Blue Copper Marans chicks, they have grown into gorgeous hens and are just starting to lay eggs.

I also got a couple of Welsummers at the time I purchased the Marans.

During the summer I got 6 Black Sex-Link pullets that were a few months old and just at the age to start laying from Wesley Acres.

My friend, Chanin, Chicken Mathed me into some Orpington chicks back in April that are all grown up now too.

She gave me some Blue splash Orps. Can you tell this girl has an attitude?

As well as a few Buff / Blue Orpington crosses. They turned out kind of cool, except....

As often happens in Chicken Math situations, it became apparent as the chicks grew, that one was a rooster.

So he now hangs with Rooster Cogburn and Mr. Swagger.

With only a handful of new fowl friends added to the flock this spring, and an aging population of retired hens in my flock, my egg production was down significantly and my market customers were clamoring for eggs. I had to do something.

I normally keep all of my old girls forever, but with the large flock that I have, and so many older hens no longer laying ( but still happily gobbling up feed...a lot of feed ) I made the decision to find a new home for some of the old granny chickens. There was a problem though, I would only give them away to someone who would keep them forever - I didn't want anyone eating my girls! 

Who would be willing to take a bunch of old chickens? This was probably going to take some time.

 In talking to one of my Farmers' Market friends, I was able to find just the person to take them. Linda, from Tuftee's Garden. I discovered that she LOVES the old hens and would be happy to take a few to live out their lives on her farm. She told me I could bring 10, but in the end I could only part with six of them. The six that I chose were all between 5-6 years old and hadn't laid an egg in....well...a long, long time. 

 Marie and I brought the chickens out to Linda's lovely place, and they settled right in. They have a large barn, surrounded by greenhouses, with an outdoor run. They will be allowed to roam outside on the property during times when there is someone at home to keep an eye on them.

Marie and I were just getting ready to leave, when Linda was silly enough to mention that, since it was the end of the season, we should take some plants home with us. The greenhouse was closed until spring and most of the plants would not winter- over, so they had to go. She had no idea what she was saying. I thought she knew Marie better than that.

Within seconds, a pile of plants began to form at Marie's feet.

I'm not gonna lie, I got a few plants too, but my dear sister Marie is just as addicted to plants as she is to shiny things. There was a lot of conversation like, "Oh, noooo, Linda, I couldn't possibly take one of these......I shouldn't..............they are really pretty though... Ok, maybe just one then."

And then, this traveling greenhouse happened in the back of my truck. These are just the hanging baskets, the small plants are hidden in the back. Plant Math.

Good thing this bad boy was anchored down, or I'd have been hauling that home too!

The old hens were settled into their nice new retirement village, so we headed home with The Little Shop of Horrors going on in the back of my truck. But I still hadn't solved the problem of needing younger laying hens.

 I decided that I should order some chicks soon, so that they would start laying eggs by spring.

If you've read this blog, you know how I love to get chicks from SandHill Preservation, but since they don't sex their chicks, and they always send a  lot of extras....a lot of extras, I really, really wasn't prepared for full-on Chicken Math going into winter. I opted instead to place an order for ALL PULLETS, of good egg production lines, from Murray McMurray . My friend Cassie, from Farm Genevieve wanted a few too, so we were going to split the order. 

I was ordering 25 chicks, and Cassie wanted 10. I placed the order for 15 Black Stars ( 10 for me, 5 for Cassie) 15 Easter-Eggers ( 10 for me 5 for Cassie) and 5 Red Stars for me, 35 chicks in all. McMurray has a box on their order form that you can check to receive a "Free rare breed chick", I always make sure that box is UNchecked because, with my luck, the free chick is certain to be a rooster. The order for the 35 chicks was to be shipped on Tuesday or Wednesday of last week. 

The Murray McMurray hatchery is only about 3 and a half hours from here, so the chicks usually arrive at the Illinois postal sorting- station,  about a 30 minute drive from here, the same evening that they ship. I left a notation on my order for the sorting station to call as soon as the chicks arrive, and I would pick them up to minimize the number of transfers that the little chickies would have to go through. I also called the sorting station personally with a reminder in the event that they didn't get my original message on the order form. Why does that surprise you? You know how I am. 

I didn't receive a call on Tuesday evening, so I assumed that they must be going to ship out on Wednesday. No call came on Wednesday, so I called the hatchery and was told that, yes, they would have been shipped out on Tuesday or Wednesday, and that I should receive them soon.. I called the sorting station..again...."Yes, ma'am, we have your note right here, we'll call when they come in." 

Thursday came, and still no chicks. OK, I could have driven to the hatchery and back 12 times by now.....where were they? Thursday night I called again...." YES, WE HAVE YOU MESSAGE!"  I am 100% certain that by this point I had been placed on several governmental watch lists, but I didn't care. Where were they? Friday morning around seven, the phone rang, I heard a chorus of peeping in the background. "This is the Davenport post office, we have your chicks, do you want to come pick them up, or do you want us to send them out with your carrier?" Well, duh.

I am not sure why the sorting station didn't call, or why they went ahead and sent them on to the Davenport post office....maybe they were too busy assembling a security team in case the Crazy Chicken Lady showed up.

In any case, I got to the post office in about 15 minutes to find that all of the chicks were healthy and fine. Whew!

As soon as I got them home I pulled each one out of the box, dipped their beaks in the water to get them drinking, and counted them. 35, 36, 37....wait. 38.....39, 40?????

So, apparently Murray is somewhat versed in kinder, gentler Chicken Math. We only  had 5 extras. When Cassie came to pick up her 10 chicks, I was gracious enough  to allow her take 3 of the mystery chicks. ...that was all I could talk her into. One that Cassie took appears to be a Phoenix.

One of the extras that I kept, I later discovered, is an Egyptian Fayoumis, which, sadly, as adults are not quite as attractive as the artist's rendition on the hatchery website would lead you to believe.

....Drawing on the website......

Aaaaand, the frightening reality....YIKES!

The other extras appear to be more of the same breeds that we originally ordered.

Here are some photos of the cuteness.

" Should we make a break for it? I heard the people at the post office say that this lady is a little CRAA-ZY."

Pears on the ground, pears on the ground, what you gonna do with the pears on the ground?

I thought I was done making jam this week......

Then it got windy yesterday.

I guess I am making more pear jam.

 There are still a lot left on the tree too. Yikes!

"Don't worry, we'll help you clean these up, won't we Emma?"

"Yeah, anything to help out!"

" Nom, Nom, Nom."

   "Boy, this is hard work!"

"Oh, Emma, why must you be so vulgar?"

" Waitress! Dahhhling, could you please wash a few of these pears and slice them for me? Not the ones from the ground, pick some off of the tree. I would also like a chilled glass of Moscato- and be quick about it!"

A tale of two Cucurbits and other scary garden stuff.

Every year I start planning out my gardens in January when all the colorful, attractive seed catalogs start to arrive. Every year I swear that this will be the year I have a magnificent garden, this will be the year that my garden stays weed-free and I will have the most beautiful vegetables in all the land. I say that in January. The sad reality is, every year I start out with a lovely, well-tended garden...and then life happens, or, Mother Nature happens. For the past three years, spring has started with obscene amounts of rain, followed by dry, dry, dry summers....great for growing weeds...not so much for vegetables.

The most troublesome crops for me to grow have always been pumpkins and squash. I have no trouble planting the seeds and getting them to sprout out of their nice little hills, lovingly constructed of composted manure and rich garden soil. I water them as their vines take over the garden, the yard, the pasture. I watch as they flower and start to set fruit. Inevitably though, the Vine-Borers arrive, and they bring their friends the Stink Bugs, feasting on the plants until vines begin to wither and die. Once the bugs start, the damage is done, and I have wasted a huge portion of my garden space with nothing to show for it. Last year I was able to baby along a few measly Pumpkins and some wonky little acorn squash to maturity, but upon cutting them open, I found that they were mealy and mushy inside. All of my efforts ended up in the compost pile. That was it! No more growing of anything in the Curcubit family for me! Too much space lost, too much time, work and effort. I was done!

This year I only planted crops that were more manageable, more cooperative and less...well, buggy. I envisioned a pristine garden with immaculate rows of glorious vegetables and perfectly tilled walkways......yeah, I can envision all I want, but that didn't happen. With the now all-too-familiar rain/drought scenario of the previous summers, my garden went the way of gardens past and reverted to it's, ummm, it's more natural state. The good news is, if anyone is in need of Pigweed, Cockleburs, Water hemp or Lambs Quarters I can totally hook you up.

Yes, I had pretty much thrown in the proverbial towel on my garden. 

Then, one day I happened to pass by the compost pile and saw an enormous vine snaking it's way across the pile, winding through the manure and straw . I took a closer look and noticed the familiar leaves of a squash or pumpkin. It apparently sprouted out of the remnants of the composted vine-crop disaster of last year. I chuckled and thought to myself, those will never grow, I can't get them to grow even when I plant them on purpose! I left them, certain that they would meet their demise once the insect population was in full-swing. Well, they didn't. They kept growing, and growing, and growing. They laughed at the insects. They soon overtook the Asparagus bed. 

Not only did the vines grow, but they began to set fruit.

They took over fences.

And they claimed the wood pile.

They grew right into the raspberry patch.

As the fruit matured, and after we had a little rain to wash it off, it occurred to me that they really didn't look like the same variety of pumpkins that I had thrown in the pile last fall, they are much, much darker and the creases are deeper. I am thinking that there was cross-pollination last year between the Acorn Squash and Pumpkins and the resulting seeds that sprouted are hybrids.....Squmpkins, if you will. 

It's a good thing that other vine crops can't cross pollinate like squashes and pumpkins can because then we could be looking at a crop of Squattermellon, or Zuccumbers- that would just be wrong.

I have yet to cut one open to see what the innards look like....I will keep you posted..I know this is all so riveting!

My other garden misadventures involve my Sweet Potatoes. The vines were fabulous, but when it came time to dig them up, I felt more like I was performing an autopsy than gardening.

Because we had so little rain this summer, the ground was hard, and dry, and didn't allow the roots to spread out to form nice, long, plump taters....

Instead I got what looked like intestines.

And a heart.

OK, so maybe I have a vivid imagination.

I did find a couple of decent-looking Sweet Potatoes.....unfortunately someone else found them first. Darn varmints!

That's it! I'm done! I am pretty sure that I will soon be fencing off the area where my big garden is and adding that space to the ram pasture. I have discovered in my old age that, contrary to what I have always believed, I can't do everything...or at least I can't do everything well. I still have a smaller garden area that is closer to the house, and it is still more than adequately sized to keep our pantry stocked through the winter. I'm not giving up completely, I am just giving myself a break. 

I can't wait until the seed catalogs start coming! Did I just say that?

Wisconsin Sheep and Wool festival

So, our maiden voyage with Harrison Ford ( the truck, not the man ), went well and the drive itself was relatively uneventful. He got us safely to our destination in Jefferson, Wisconsin.
Surprisingly.....or maybe not so surprisingly if you are a follower of this blog...we still needed the assistance of my new GPS to find our way, even though we have been going to this show for many years.
When we arrived at the fairgrounds on Friday, it was so great to be greeted by all of our sheepy friends, and it was wonderful to be surrounded by so many beautiful Shetlands. What a great weekend! This year we had two amazing judges from the UK - Kate Sharp and Alan Hill, they have both raised, and judged, Shetlands for many years in the UK. These two judges know more about Shetland sheep than I could ever hope learn in three lifetimes.

And they are just plain fun!

My only regret about the weekend is that we didn't get to the fairgrounds in time to take part in the Judges seminar that was conducted Friday morning. I was able to join in on the ram/ewe inspections later that day and learned so much more about our breed and why preservation of certain conformation traits is so important. For more detailed information, check out my friend Theresa's  blog. There will also be a DVD available soon of the judges seminar ( I can't wait to get one since I missed the seminar), it will be full of great information for anyone with Shetland Sheep ( Email Kelly at okacres@hotmail.com to reserve a copy).

I brought 6 sheep with me with the intention of showing two ewe lambs, two ram lambs, and one senior ram. I also brought one ram lamb to sell.
I ended up showing only one of the ewe lambs, two ram lambs and my senior ram.
I was on the fence about whether or not I should show my ewe lamb, Athena; she had just turned 4 months old ( she was the last lamb born this past spring on May 5th) and I thought she may be a bit young to compete - but I ended up showing her, and she did great, taking third place out of a class of 36 really nice ewes!

I also showed Sommarang Gilroy, placing 4th in the senior ram class. Gilroy has sired some awesome lambs for me. He was bred by my dear friend Lori Stephenson. Lori has some of the nicest Shetland Sheep ever and she has been a mentor to me and she has been a huge part in helping me get my flock where I need it to be with fleece and conformation. Thanks, Lori!

All the show results will soon be posted on the Midwest Shetland Sheep Breeders website. There were some really exciting wins for some of my friends, so it was nice to see them get recognition for all their hard work and dedication to the breed.
Here are more pictures from the show.

My buddy Juliann Budde from Little Country Acres with one of her lovely polled rams.

The Fulks family with their small flock.

My favorite part of going to this show is catching up with old friends, and making new ones. Most of us are scattered across the US, and this is the one weekend during the year that we really get to spend time together.

Here are just a few of the usual suspects....I miss them already.

Left to right are Mike and Kelly from OK Acres, Briony is in the middle....she doesn't own sheep, but often gets dragged into the show ring when people need an extra pair of hands showing their sheep. She also cooks a mean pot of vegetarian chili! Lastly, but not least(ly), Garrett from Ramsay Farms, Garrett is like the little brother I never wanted....errr..ALWAYS wanted, I meant always, Garrett..

After the show was over, there was some sheep rearranging to be done.....some 'Sheep Math', if you will...Sheep Math is a lot like Chicken Math, so try to follow along.

 I brought Pegasus and Apollo to show, with the intention of keeping them. I brought Helios to sell. I brought my two ewe lambs only to show, I had/have no intention of selling them, and I brought Gilroy to show and deliver him to my friend Laura, from Psalm23 farm, so she could lease him for breeding this fall. So, the plan was: Sell Helios, drop off Gilroy, bring home Pegasus, Apollo and the two ewe lambs. That was the original plan. Leave with 6, come home with 4.....until I decided to lease Avyt for breeding again this fall, so it no longer made sense to keep his two ram lambs, Pegasus and Apollo, so Pegasus was sold and will be making the girls at Under The Son Farm in Indiana happy, while Apollo will be residing in Minnesota at Ramsay Farms. Helios, the ram I was planning on selling, ended up coming home with me, along with a nice katmoget ram lamb from Ramsay Farms, plus Avyt and the two ewe lambs....so, I came home with 5, but if you followed any of that you can now proudly say that you are a scholar in the fine art of Sheep Math.

New katmoget ram.WhitePine Nessie's Monster Mash (M&M). He was 4th in a very large class of ram lambs and helped secure a 3rd place in pair of ram lambs!

 Since Helios is an Avyt son too, he still needs a home. He is a nice moorit ram lamb and he carries spots. He has a super-sweet temperament.

His fleece is fine, very crimpy with a lot of  ((SpRiNgY)) to it.

I am already looking forward to the show next year!

Wow, there are a lot of links in this post!