Britesea - Living the good life in rural Oregon

[Britesea]

In an effort to reduce the overcrowding for the ducks, I made a temporary enclosure in the yard- kind of a playpen- out of about 20 feet of 2' tall aviary wire I had sitting around. Sat down with a piece of wire and "sewed' the ends together to make an enclosed circle. Saturday, Sunday, and again today they have spent about 4 hours in there each day- as long as there was someone not doing too much that could keep a close eye on them. DS reported that yesterday, because we were gone and he couldn't spare that much time to put them outside, they spent the day in their little box in the utility room. They were NOT happy campers. Every time he came into the room, they all started peeping madly at him; we are pretty sure they were trying to get him to take them outside. This morning they were louder than ever and would not shut up until I took them outside.

Today 3 of them got brave enough to try out the ramp to the little "pond" we had- actually just a largish pan that we use for the dog's water outside. There happened to be some wrigglers in it -mosquito larvae- we usually dump the water when we see them, but I left them in hoping the ducks would go after them. And they did, with gusto! Maybe tomorrow the more timid ones will join them.

I managed to get one wall of the duck coop painted with marine varnish- if I do the same each day I'll have all 4 walls done by the weekend. DS is supposed to be hammering in the metal T-stakes for the fence, but I don't hear much action coming from there now that I'm inside I'm trying to think what I can put in the duck's yard to protect them from hawks etc. I can't afford anymore purchases right now, so poultry netting or tarps across the top are out. The yard is 20x20 and both of those ideas would be too expensive. I do have an old 10x10 canopy from when I used to go to art fairs- it's partly broken but I may be able to rig up something that they can run under, at least.

Friday, we had a thunderstorm come through the area, and we now have 26 fires, started by lightning strikes. Luckily for us- they are all downwind of us, and so far no houses are threatened; but the smoky air is causing all sorts of misery among those with allergies or asthma; even people without that are suffering from itching burning eyes because of all the smoke. Last night the moon was deep orange.

 

[Britesea]

The ducks have been in their permanent home for 6 days now, even though we haven't quite finished the yard. The gate had to be redone because it was a little too large for the opening and wouldn't close properly, and I still need to finish the anti-digging portion of the fence-- I have some 1" poultry wire that will be folded in half lengthwise so that part of it is vertical and attached to the 6' welded wire fencing, and half of it will lie along the ground outside the pen, to be weighted down with rocks and broken bricks and whatever. But in the meantime, every once in a while, I will see them just run across the yard for no discernible reason-- I think they are just enjoying having so much space.

Yesterday, we started hearing thunder in the afternoon, and I could tell the storm was moving closer. Even though they could have taken shelter under the coop, I decided to put the ducks inside. It was early, so I made sure they had some water at least inside. I am so glad I decided to do so-- because the storm opened up over us and dumped hail at least 1/2" in diameter until the ground was covered-- in fact there is still some on the ground right now, in the shade. Then it changed to rain and within minutes the yard was ankle deep in water; and cold. I don't think the ducklings would have done well in that at all. But they were so hungry this morning when I let them out, the poor things! Usually they hang out at the entrance to the coop for a while, waiting to see if there's anything scary out there. Not today; they came boiling out of there as soon as the door was opened!

Other news, the husband of a friend of mine is going bow hunting for elk. He only wants the rack-- they don't care for the meat. So she told me that if he manages to bag one, we can have all the meat if we either pay to have it cut and wrapped, or come over and cut and wrap ourselves. Cross your fingers! I'm going to pull some chicken and ground pork from the freezer and pressure can it so I can make more room today.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Let's hope your friends husband has happy hunting! I can't imagine not wanting the meat - elk meat is absolutely awesome!

 

[snapshot]

I'm glad you put your ducklings up. I bet the hail would have scared them as well as maybe hurt them. I also hope your friend bags an elk!

 

[Britesea]

Thanks

The hail made front page news in the local paper-- 1.15 inches of precipitation in 30 minutes

 

[Britesea]

Woohoo! My babies are learning to go up the ramp into their coop in the evening! I still had to round them up in the temporary corral I make each night, but then I picked each one up and put her/him about halfway up the ramp and told them "time to go to bed" like I do every night...and each one obligingly scooted the rest of the way up the ramp and into the coop! Eventually, I hope they will put themselves to bed and all I will have to do is come out and lock the door.

I cleaned out my fridge today. One of my least favorite activities; not just because of the science experiments one usually finds at the back, but our fridge is small and low to the ground, and its placement means you have to be a contortionist to clean the back wall and ceiling. But, I had a rush of brains to the head, and bought several small storage containers- shallow, but width and length fit the shelves nicely. Now I have "drawers" that I can pull out to see what is in the back of the fridge without taking everything out from the front. I will still have to be a contortionist to clean it, but hopefully this will mean no more multiple containers of chopped ginger or capers mouldering in the corners!

Since I was cleaning the fridge, I knew I would be too tired to do much in the way of dinner, so I threw some boneless chicken thighs in the crockpot with some bbq sauce-- pulled chicken sandwiches for dinner, with green salad and oven fries; leftover orange cake for dessert.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

That is the BEST idea I've heard in a long time! Why didn't I think of that??

Containers in the fridge makes perfect sense and I will be heading to the Dollar Store the next time I"m in town. You can even put 'like' things together, like condiments in one container. Now you've almost got me excited about cleaning my fridge, lol!

 

[~gd]

That is the BEST idea I've heard in a long time! Why didn't I think of that??

Containers in the fridge makes perfect sense and I will be heading to the Dollar Store the next time I"m in town. You can even put 'like' things together, like condiments in one container. Now you've almost got me excited about cleaning my fridge, lol!

YEP I have been using the container system for years [have problens with my sense of balance when I bend over] To clean I use a sawed off Swiffter device and sit on a chair so I don't have to bend over. When my ship came in I hired a cleaning lady for 2 hours/week. Though able bodied she uses my system to clean the washer drier dishwasher even the oven and the bathroom, She insistsit is easier for bend over jobs.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

That is also a great idea! No wonder I hate cleaning so much - I've been doing it the hard way all these years...sigh...

 

[pinkfox]

i use containers in my chest freezer for that same reason (plus the whole dress for a trip to Antarctica just to pull the chicken out of the bottom of the freezer routein lol)