Daydreaming while waiting impatiently!

[tortoise]

Both my egg customers are going on vacation this week. I think it's time to start the incubator then! DH won't be happy, he doesn't want to raise chicks this year. Last year was bad, we brooded them in the barn and never moved them out. There are still a half dozen roosters in the barn we couldn't catch to butcher! My plan is to brood the chicks IN THE CHICKEN COOP! (Revolutionary!!). There is a little fenced yard outside, so they can grow out there.

 

[NH Homesteader]

Chickens in the chicken coop? What??? Lol

Good luck, I am the one here that doesn't want to do chicks. Are you still doing the meat bird experiment?

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Chickens in the chicken coop?

What a great idea, lol!

 

[sumi]

You can do something like this for them: https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...d-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update.956958/

 

[tortoise]

The weather finally broke and now it's busy-busy-busy!

We got all our lambs ear tagged, second dose of vaccine, tails banded, and the boys wethered. We did it late because I lost the ear tags. Some of the lambs were tough to hold because they are so large already! I am hopeful they grow out nicely to market weights.

DH has been working on the big barn spring cleanup. The barn cleaner is thawed and functional. DH is working on getting the floor cleared so we can have a mudjacker cement contractor look at it. I hope it can be fixed. We need a new roof on the barn, but won't unless we can get the foundation stabilized.

I started pruning blueberries. 50 done, 350 to go. No biggie, right?

I have been moving a large rock pile. It doesn't have to go far, but it's a huge chore!

Garden still has snow on it, but looks like I'll be able to mark plots for my permanent beds in a couple days.

I am lead training the 2 smallest ewe lambs. They're the only ones I can catch. They're on day 3. 0016 is doing well. 0015 is one stubborn little piece of work! I think she'll come 'round yet.

If you couldn't read between the lines, my house is a mess! Only so many hours in the day!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

If you couldn't read between the lines, my house is a mess! Only so many hours in the day!

I feel ya sistah! Hope you get those blueberries trimmed up...sounds like a 'fun' job!

 

[sumi]

You have a lot to do! 350 blueberry…

 

[tortoise]

Rock pile is done, save for a few that are so big we'll use the tractor to move them.

I started raking the yard (why?! ) this morning.

I got a bit of sunburn, so I'm staying inside during midday, like I should have yesterday. I'm happy to rest, but itching to get outside again!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I got a bit of sunburn

From winter to sunburn in 2.5 minutes - that's crazy!

 

[tortoise]

ALL 400 blueberry bushes are pruned!

I started pruning raspberries, about 1/4 done.

Yard is still only partially raked.

I started pruning landscape bushes around the house. We had wild rabbits living nearby and they pruned and stripped bark on them, so I did a harsh prune on a couple to even them up. They were overgrown and awful looking anyway. Still have another side of the house to prune bushes on. I did trimmed them some in fall to try to remove mouse habitat and to keep branches (mouse bridges) off the house. Hopefully they don't need too much.

Incubator is running with 47 eggs in it. DH hasn't noticed yet.

Lambs are still going on lead training. Today 0015 was throwing fits, so she got leashed to a post while I did barn chores. She threw a tantrum and the post was unmoved. I walked her again after and she did fine.

I have a spazzy wild ewe that is destined for slaughter. Maybe? She wasn't getting her fair share of food and was losing weight so we separated her out into a lambing pen. Hungry was motivating! She is eating out of my hand now. Today I went into her pen to hand feed her. She was stressed, but still ate and was improved over last time I opened her pen.

I was having a rough day with fatigue and unstable vitals yesterday, so I went shopping. Bought some nice pruning shears for myself, a variety of gloves, potting soil, tiny ceramic pots for selling small plants at farmer's market. Perennials are marked down here because of our slow spring. I bought a BUNCH at half price.!

DS11 is having issues at school. It's just not working. Put out one fire and another starts. The most recent fire is other kids' behavior towards him. They're not bullying or anything, there's nothing to be done about their behavior. DS11 is just attracting more attention to himself than is beneficial. Not his fault either. And his classes are too easy yet, so the more he is accelerated, the more attention and intensity he will receive. I don't know what to do. If he wasn't such an underachiever I would do some alternative schooling. But with the underachieving, his behavior is intolerable. IDK.