Spring is here! And, in the desert that means it might be crazy windy! Today the winds are strong and it's close to 70 degrees. We essentially finished the shop... all I have to do is put trim around the windows, doors and the corners where the walls meet. The sheetrock is finished and we roofed it before Amy went into surgery. So far, so good, as yesterday we had rain and today is windy and no leaks and no missing shingles!
I'll have inside pictures soon - I just don't have any on the computer right now. I've started moving things in there and it's soooo nice! I know longer have to climb over tools and things are organized. Yay. In a month or two, we'll put the carport up that will be attached to the side opposite of the window you see in the photo.
The garden is doing so-so. The weather has been so erratic. When I planted the seeds, it was in the 70's and right after planting, dropped down to highs in the low 60s with cold nights. Some of the seeds didn't germinate as I think it was too cold. The kale, chard and pickling cucumbers came up along with a few beets. So, I have started some seeds indoors. Again, weird weather. The highs are supposed to be in the low 50's this weekend! Unheard of for the high desert.
Sherman the Boxer caught his first squirrel ever after years of trying. He was lazily walking towards the chicken coop/run after I went in the chicken run and a squirrel was in there stealing my organic chicken feed and ran out. Well, he practically ran into Sherman's mouth and I honestly think Sherman was was pretty shocked he had caught it! I turned my head and it was quick and there were no squirrely noises emitted. My feed is only lasting half as long as I have a TERRIBLE squirrel problem. But, I found an automatic feeder on ebay that is opened by weight. It's basically a treadle feeder and the feeder is supposed to open when a chicken stands on it but not open with a squirrel's weight as they weigh much less. I should have it in a few days. I really hope it will do the trick and think it will! The chickens are great but I'm worried because I have found a few "stick tight" fleas on my dogs' ears the last couple of days. Stick tight fleas can be a real problem for chickens as they attach themselves all around the chickens' eyes and they can become swollen shut and even blinded. I'm organic and don't want to dust my chickens with seven dust or anything toxic. I am going to give the coop and run a good dusting with DE as I've heard that's a good preventative, but not a guarantee. I am really hoping the chickens don't get the stick tights. They are bad up here in the summer and looks like the season has started.
I hope everyone is having a wonderful week and thank you so much for hanging in there with me while I'm going through what I'm going through! I have loved all the comments and well wishes.
Glad to hear surgery went well. Will be praying for great results tomorrow. If you ever have an ant problem, a good non toxic natural product to use is cinnamon. You put a line of it where you don't want them to cross and it keeps them away. I just recently discovered this while house sitting.
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nancy - thank you! glad you have joined the blog also. welcome!!! we do have a lot of ants up here in the summer so if they make their way to the chickens, i will try this. much appreciated!
ReplyDeleteI'm sending good thought your way. Here in the desert mountains it snowed a little last night. There is still snow on the ground and it was really cold when I walked the dogs. Talk about windy!!--Inger
ReplyDeleteStill sending my healthy thoughts your way. I couldn't stand the waiting for news.
ReplyDeleteGlad your little work shop is done good job.
Wind is aweful here also. We should get the rain today or later tonite. The temps were in the 90's last week and now we are in the mid 50's. I was going to head up to the mountains and was told to stay here it is snowing again.
Maybe next week.
I'm thinking of you and sending many prayers your way.
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