Farm Update

Country Fragrances

My loving husband said we lived where he wanted to for 25 years, so on behalf of our anniversary he found a 35 acre farm for our next 25 years. We've had the farm for a few years & spent the 1st few years cleaning up the property.

The "No damn chicken farm"!
From the beginning I have said I hate chickens. They stink, they're mean, & they're noisy. So, the 1st thing I did was burn the old coop down & demanded "NO DAMN CHICKENS"! I always got stuck cleaning the coop when I went to the farm during the summer. Now, I say I'm not plucking the chickens. I can still smell the water, yuck. I wonder how long this will last.

The coop was a perfectly good structure! I kicked in the door, ran off a very large cat with a stubbed tail, two 6 foot black snakes, & an unspeakable amount of petrified chicken poop. I wanted to light a match, but Dwight wanted it tore down. It had 3 inch oak plank flooring, layers of walls with hay between. The hornets & wasps were in heaven. We tore it down board by board & had a fire you could see a distance. I'm now referred to as the "Resident Pyro".

With the coop & laundry poles gone we were perfectly happy at the "No chickens" farm. Repair to the front road crossing the pond had to be done so we removed fencing that sectioned the property for cattle & had a road built up to the site where we were going to build our dream house. After living in the old farm house with no central heat or air it didn't have to be fancy.

The poor old chicken smoker had to go with the fencing. When we hauled it off to the scrap dealer it looked like a scud missle going down the highway. Good thing we were out in the country. Hauling something like that in the city would have caused the cops to have been called. I think we got $14.00 in scrap off the stinky thing. It was a bugger to remove. Tons of cement, bricks, & junk.

We set up house the best we could in the 800 square foot house thinking the city house would take a time to sell. Of course the house sold immediately & we stuffed our belongings in one of the bedrooms from floor to ceiling with just a path to get to things if needed. Too bad I put my recipe books on the bottom where the termites ate them. I thank my sister for borrowing our late Aunt Bonnies books or they would be gone forever. The same books that I'm still trying to get back from her. Our mother says if she gets her hands on the cookbooks she's making a copy so we'd quit fighting over them.

Don't mother's know we will just find something else to squabble about. We're sisters, that's what we do!

Where a road goes someone will build a house, & a house we built. I always said Dwight has taste, too bad his budget wasn't as fortunate. Man, can that guy design a house. His kitchen has 5 ovens, 2 sinks, a 6 foot frig, an ice maker, a wine frig, & 2 dish washers. The house isn't that big, but he laid everything out so well that he used every little spot available.

When we were moving furniture from the farm house up to the new house Dwight saw a snake coiled in the stool. While I was reaching for it at the base of the snakes head to grab it to release it outside Dwight made a circle around the front room and screamed for me to get our kind neighbor to assist. The snake woke up from all the noise. Roger and I had to remove it with old bbq tongs and a bucket. As we went for the back door you could see Dwight and Serieta heading up the driveway. Dwight wouldn't sleep in the farm house after that. We slept on the floor until our bedroom furniture could be delivered.

We can walk out the french doors in the kitchen to the back porch & shoot coyotes as they jump around eating field mice. There are no skinny coyotes out here. Fat & plump as can be. I teased Dwight when he ran out in his pajamas with his shot gun to shoot the unknowing coyote pups. They live, but have better respect for Dwights territory. I think their just sneakier & he hasn't caught them yet.

The guest room has french doors leading out to the front porch for a more private entrance. Guests have been know to sleep with the doors open so to enjoy the country noises better.

Don't they know the insects will carry you off down here. They're HUGE!

We were out for Alana's B'day (aka "Big AL") & We're puddy in her hands. When Steve & Regina visit he enjoys hitting the pond for a few fish.

There's PoPo Eric when he brings Sophie down she has to ride the ATV.

The house has been built & a few years have gone by when the economy hits at the farm. I get laid off at the plant & have time on my hands. The neighbors quit giving farm eggs & you know how much I love farm eggs. I had to weigh how much I really love farm fresh eggs. Well, the rest is history. I shared my desire for farm fresh eggs & the neighbor said, "build the coop & the chickens will come". Really, that's what he said. He brings 6 laying hens & 1 rooster. The girls will feel safer with a rooster around. A few days later we have 2 hens with no feathers & off to talk with my kind neighbors I go. Come to find out the rooster is full of energy with his new found freedom in the 1 rooster coop & said he'd bring 4 more hens. If I insisted he would change out the rooster. But, give the rooster a few days. The girls will tire of him & take care of Fred.

Terry's family love riding the ATV's. Jordan & Trevor joined them on Bart's. Terry & his kids, Tyler, Brittney, & Angel.

Terry, Tyler, & Jonathan have a good day of fishing.

Everyone is doing well & we collect an average of 4 eggs a day. Not too bad for a rookie. No attempts from the local predators yet, but I check every day. Terry's kids named the rooster "Fred" (he's in the nesting box), Jonathan & Tamara named the white Americana "Miss Piggy". The nesting box was acquired from Paul Harris in exchange for 5 cups of our homemade dry meat rub mix. Thank you Paul! Our neighbors refer to it as the Hilton Inn compared to where they came from. You were right, the chickens only use 1 or 2 of the boxes. Here's a better picture of Fred Poopalot standing in the middle of two of his girls. Dwight named the Cootmaran "Zsa Zsa" pictured by her self. The new hens haven't arrived yet, but you can't rush the man that catches free range chickens & donates them for the cause.

Every morning I feed the chickens & clean. That's a typical day in the coop. Mid afternoon we stopped to feed the chickens their afternoon snack, Fred & Zsa Zsa were hanging out (weird, they never hang together). When I went to put feed down I noticed our hens multiplied or I'm having an obvious math issue down at the farm. But, thankfully the new hen still had her back feathers so we knew someone was setting us up. You know if you hang out with Fred for very long your feathers are gone. I check for eggs & counted 8. I counted the chickens, & counted the eggs again. 7 hens don't lay 8 eggs & off to my great neighbor I go. Roger & his wife Serieta stopped by the coop & snuck in a hen & 5 Ginny eggs. Roger bet it would take me awhile to find the new hen. Serieta said I'd notice right off because I'm down there everyday. We all had a needed laugh that afternoon. I have the greatest neighbors. Their friend Phil had a rooster & 1 hen left in the pen from that days sell. He asked Roger to drop the rooster off at his barn when he left & give the hen to Sandy. Thank you Phil! As she was running around the coop for the 3rd time gasping for air we named her Molly Brown. As they sit on the roost from left to right is Zsa Zsa Gabor, Molly Brown, Holly Dolittle, Fred Poopalot, Miss Piggy, Rosa Bigbutt, Nikki Notail, & Henrietta Redneck (Redd).

Dwight & I finished the new run & he's claiming the chickens are treated better than him & the dog. You know what my reply was,

"When you two start laying eggs you'll get treated just as good as the chickens."

The shade sail was donated by Mom.

Here's some family & friend pictures.