Pink Fox: its Raining...IN MY HOUSE! :/

[pinkfox]

getting little to nothing done today...and im ok with that LOL!
weather is stunning, im just a tad worn out.

do need to go to town later and pick up a few more runs of PVC, just need enough to add a small arc to the meaty pen under the tarp area to the rain that's supposed to be coming in tomorrow will run off rather than puddle ontop

and I would like to get my quail cages up on their tposts today.

hoping to work on the veggie garden fence this weekend and start bed building
im also planning on cleaning out the goat stall this weekend too!

as of right now 5 of 9 rhodebarr eggs have hatched, and weve got 2 boys 2 girls and 1 drying...(I think its a male.)
hoping for a few more girls. 1 boy and the 2 current girls are staying would like another girl for us, ad would like to be able to pair up the rest, so what out of 4 eggs left I need 3 girls and a boy lol. *fingers crossed* no signs of external pips on the last 4 yet though, hoping they arnt late deaths.

otherwise that's about it.

 

[Britesea]

Hope your good weather continues so you can get everything done!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

hope more of your rhodebars hatch!

 

[pinkfox]

doesn't look like they will :/ and little crooked neck didn't make it :/
4 out of 14 eggs, crappy hatch, but I think a lot had to do with me not keeping a good enough check on humidity.
ive still got the 4 goose eggs in there of which I think 2 are still good...but we'll see...once they come out im going to disinfect the incubator and mabe order another batch. or I may just stick goose eggs in...not sure yet.

with the 2 little ladies in this batch we'll have 5 rhodebar hens, and im thinking of adding something different too, according to my homework if I go with a silver basd hen (ie Delaware or silver laced Wyandotte) under a rhodebar roo, chicks would be red sex links, and id assume make a fairly nice meaty...so im thinking of getting a couple of silved based hens
chicks hatched will be either rhodebarr or red sexlinks, id sell the females and grow out he males for the freezer.

Rabbitry is ok...today is hotter than typical for this time of year and its about 80 in there which is about the top of my no assistance comfort zone...there a little warm but no one seems ot be struggling...my NZ mix doe isn't happy, but shes also been nesting so I think shes just plain uncomfortable lol.
I need to set up my central air system and am thinking of getting a good sized box fan, I think if I can get a little more air flowing through there it would be comfortable, its currently 5 degrees lower than the temperature outside the rabbitry but still about 2 degrees over the general overall temperature.
im thinking if I add a box fan to the front sinde where the breeze hits anyway to increase airflow, it should be good.
im on the look out for clematis for the bed at the side of the rabbitry, im hoping with some extra shade itll help too.
ive been working some on that bed so far and have some strawberries int here that im hoping to allow take over and become perennial, 2 thronless blackberries, 2 peonies, 2 mints, 4 lemon thyme and some gladiolus bulbs I found laying around, I want 2 more blackberry, come lemon balm and lavender (help keep the bugs away) and 3 clematis vines to cover it during the summer.
im lookgin specifically for group 3 clematis that would be cut back to about 12" once they die off in the fall so no worries about he weight of snow ontop of the vines over the winter.

it is proving MUCH easier on feeding and watering and such so far though so that's good!

not much else happening right now, wanted to go to the flea market today but that didn't happen...
so nice out I bet it would have been pretty busy even for early in the season...oh well.
mabe tomorrow.

so much to get done..cant do it on my own...no ones willing to help...

 

[pinkfox]

well ended up being a fairly productive day...fixed the hose though I found 1 more leak that I need to tend to. (dad put the axe through it chipping ice during the last blast of cold weather.) but its usable.
I got 2/3rds of the flower bed next to the rabbitry done
still need the center 3rd to do but I want a few more plants to go in that part....
Walmart had both lemon balm and lavender
im thinking since I did the lemon thyme in front I should do the lavender...

and I did 3.63 miles today according to the pedometer....setting a goal as of Monday for 5 miles a day and getting back on the food wagon.
tomorrow I make "a plan" for meals

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Congrats on all the miles! Isn't it amazing how much we really move when we're doing 'farm' stuff?!

 

[pinkfox]

realy is.

got nothing done the past 2 days...
rain yesterday SNOW today, nothing sticking just flurries but seriously WTF?!
weve also apparently got a 500lb black bear wreaking havoc in the area right now, trash from about 30 trashcans along our road all abouts the place...
he even busted up a neighbors 3 bearproof cans looks like he laid them down and sat on them till they popped!

looks like he took only one bag off the top as I didn't see any of the empty feed sacks id put in the bag from up at the barn strewn about the place...but the bag with general household trash was al over the road.
sister says looks like at least one bag got dragged into the street and then likely got hit and dragged by a car (or the bear dragged it off) because the trash whent 1/4 a mile up the road
we have a "resident" bear, apretty sow how had cubs last year who stays fairly close to our house but she has never been an issue...
this bold boy is apparently a very large, around 500lb, male, one whos proven to be fearless and even helped himself to the groceries out of somsones care a few evenings ago (she took a handful of bags in and came out for the rest to see him helping himself to the tangerines in her trunk...
CRAZY.
were going to realy have to start better bearproofing...short of getting up at 5:30 on Thursday mornings ot take the trash down...

they never bothered our trash last year...
this guy has been nicknamed trouble!

not much going on otherwise...

did I mention its snowing?

 

[pinkfox]

well...were moving along...
I made the big final decision to sell my angoras...
so once these 2 litters are weaned they are gone.
already have a deposit on them and willows 3 babies, its from a couple that bought 2 angora previously as pets and simply for fun as the wife is a crafter...seems the hobby and love has expanded.
its a hard decision...im still kinda unsettled about it, but my right hand has been more than tempermental with the nerve issues and the fibro flares have been bad lately and keeping up with the daily grooming for them has been nigh imposible.
their coats are in less than stellar condition, and that's unfair to them, if it were just a case of a once a month clip down, not an issue..but its 4-5 days a week of combing to keep them in harvestable condition and if I cant do that and keep them harvestable for wool why keep them at all.
so they are going to go...itll free up room to focus on my rex and lops and take a little weight off in terms of the regular chores.

ive still got 6 babies in clovers box not accounted for, but with eyes not even open...theres little rush there,
daizy has 6 in her box, all are coming along but a little on the small side right now, especially compared to willows 3 little chunks...but we'll see...4 of them re torted otter which isn't showable anyway, but hey already are presenting with some very nice coats so, hard decision...
I may sell her come fall and bring in some bigger rex...or i may not.
still working out theauto watering system and still need to finnish up the rabbitry physically...but its getting there and the layout is definatly much simpler.

weve also figured out how to move the piggies instead of sharing the big pasure witht he female goats and potentially destroying the good land in there they wll go in the boy side which is currently rough dirt and stumps form dads "trim it but don't finnish it" kick lol

their current pen is going to get tilled (they've done a good job all by themselves) a couple of apple trees will go in there along with some top bar bee hives down in the back far corner (which will get fenced up) and that pen will eventually be the bottle baby pen. and seeded with clover, good grass, and, wildflowers around the beehives

ive also figured out the veggie garden which now is just a function of moving fencelines and cleaning up.

its progress...not much...but progress.

tomorrow im going to start focusing on cleaning out the barn
also going to figure out the fencing for the veggie patch and get that done.

 

[pinkfox]

well, got the backup fence pinned up along the back fence on the male goats pen.
this will be the new piggy pen.
going to run to tsc in a few mins and pick up shavings so tomorrow I can get the stalls done, will also deworm and do goaty feet.
yay progress

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Gotta love some progress! feel like I'm standing still lately... Only 4.5 more years until retirement - maybe I can catch up then!