Busy Busy summer

Too much going on and not enough time to write!

We've had a night predator lurking--the electronetting is not keeping him or her out since it has gaps at the end where it attaches to the compost.  We knew this was a gap, and now we know how easy it is for a raccoon or possum to find such an opportunity.

Our friends in Princeton recently lost four of their chickens to an eagle attack, including her prized breeding rooster. We are keeping an eye on the skies (and thankfully the guineas do as well, they put up a deafening fuss when they see a raptor in the sky).  There is a naughty jay or starling around that insists on mimicking a red tailed hawk call.  We're getting better at discerning the fake from the real thing.

Miss Oats our ewe that had the joint swelling might have a virus that causes it. The swelling had gotten worse, so I called our sheep vet for a chat.  The problem with the virus types that she might have is that not only can they make her have a very painful life and potentially shorten it (if we had to euthanize her for humane reasons) but it can be passed to her offspring, if we decided to breed her. For now we are treating her with antibiotics prescribed by the vet to in effect rule out whether it was infectious in origin.  Long term there are actually tests we can do to confirm the presence of the virus so we'd know before breeding her.  It wouldn't be fair to her, to put the stress of a pregnancy on her, and all that weight on painful arthritic joints.

We got our first cucumber and several Amish paste tomatoes today.

I have been treating western painted and snapping turtles at the rehab, which I really like, and I handled a red shouldered hawk and some merlin chicks for the first time the other day at TRC.

I went in for my shift right after euthanizing Miss Pearl, so I was not in good spirits at all.  My crew leader is very compassionate and kind, but as a whole I feel there is little understanding out there for a girl who considers chickens to be beloved pets.  It angers me that I'm looked down upon for my compassion and affection for these animals.

The hollyhocks were absolutely stunning this summer.  They are now succumbing to rust, and ending their cycle, after feeding many many pollinators including the first honey bee this summer.

Hoping we have a decent cucumber harvest--rabbits and voles have been eating them as they emerge.

The raspberries are amazing! The plants really are doing well this year likely because of all the rain.

We hired our neighbour who is home from University of Minnesota Duluth to tear down the cursed guinea coop.  As he worked it became more and more evident that we were doing the right thing!  The insulation was ripped apart and sagging which made it terribly ineffective. There was a wasp nest and a yellow jacket nest in it.  A mother white footed mouse frantically looked for her nest of babies that I had to move out the insulation.  Our neighbour told me that as he removed the siding mice were just pouring out, jumping ship so to speak.

G has made kim chi from the turnips and daikon radish that he planted in the swales. Yum!!

The guineas are now living in the chook palace.  G put up two of their familiar perches and they settled in very well.  We will need to rebuild an enclosed run for them before winter, since they escape the electronetting almost every day, and sometimes end up out near the road.  The other morning I went out to let the crew into their run and fill up waterers, and as the guineas trotted past, bloomers flowing, my peripheral vision caught on to a trip, trot, trip-fall-face plant action.  Son of Chaos had somehow managed to find a piece of cotton string and wrap it around his toes and both feet, effectively hobbling himself.  So every few stunted steps he'd crash, get back up and try to continue on.  Silly boy. I caught him and slowly unravelled the mess, checking for proper blood flow in all of his little toes.  All the while I was thinking that I'd better find a smart capable farm sitter who would be able to deal with these types of little mishaps.  If I hadn't noticed this, several things could have happened.  His strange gait could have elicited aggression from the other guineas, or worse, Shadow and Shade the big roosters.  He could have completely lost circulation in his feet or toes, and that would not end well for him.

So it was a good reminder for me to consciously look at every individual at least once a day.

I have a lot of photos to post soon! Again, running out of time.  Right now it's 10 pm and time for breaded zucchini awesomeness. I wonder what it's like to live like normal people and eat at 5 or 6 pm.

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Turnips, tiller radish, borage, buckwheat, hazelnut tree in the swale. Friday night laying in the grass drinking cider, watching sheepies. Not too shabby.