Empty Nest

The same little Wren bird nest out in the chicken coop that had eggs and hatched a few months ago, was full of eggs again the other day. I was wondering if it was the same mama bird who knew where the nest was hidden. 

I watched it again for a couple of weeks and took photos of the hatching eggs and baby birds. Then one day they were just gone. The nest looked undisturbed otherwise, and they weren't anywhere on the floor of the coop. I might have thought I had imagined them if I hadn't been taking photos along the way. They were not old enough to fly, so I'm wondering what predator found them in the chicken coop.

June 18

June 18

July 3

July 4

July 4

July 5

July 7

July 8

Grubs

After the recent pantry clear out, we had several boxes of old food to deal with. I hate to waste food. So I decided to start up the BioPod again.

This old post explains it the best. Also this one about the grubs. But last year I gave up.

In the past I've had limited success using the BioPod to make grubs. The main problem is having enough food scraps to keep them going. They require a constant supply to keep the life cycle of the soldier fly going. Another problem is that animals smell the rotting food and disturb the tub. 

So this summer I have tried keeping the tub inside the chicken coop. I close the door at night so the tub can't get disturbed. The downside is that it makes the coop smell. Pretty bad at times. 

But so far it's been working well and I've had a good amount of grubs to feed the chickens. The amount of grubs varies from day to day. I haven't quite worked out what food produces the most grubs, or how long the life cycle is to produce a good amount.

They're just treats whenever we get them. The chickens love them. And all that old food wasn't wasted.

Firefly

Occasionally we see fireflies at dusk along the edge of the woods, when the conditions are just right. It feels like our own little private light show. 

It is very difficult to take a photo of them because the evening lighting is poor and their flashes are irregular.

One happened to be near the house recently, and Son managed to catch it in his hand. He brought it in for us to see and we put it in a jar. I had always wondered what they looked like up close.

Even in a jar, in the house with better lighting, it was still very difficult to get a photo. The only way we could get a good image was to take a video and capture screen shots.

The light from the firefly looks an unnatural fluorescent green color, and the shapes look like a wi-fi symbol.

With a little quick research, I found that fireflies are actually a type of beetle. The flashing lights from their abdomen are a complicated mating ritual. You can read more about it here.

Buying Eggs

My hens have been laying on average about six eggs a day. I have one broody hen, which I think discourages the other hens from laying because she will just sit in the nesting box in the way.

We can eat at least six eggs a day - just our family eating breakfast. So if we have company or if I want to bake, we sometimes don't have quite enough eggs.

I have a real dilemma when I shop for eggs, trying to find some as good as I think ours are. I chose these the other day. I hadn't had to buy eggs since last Christmas.

Brush Chipping

We had trees cleared in preparation of new fencing along a portion of our property. Some of the fencing is along the county road, some between us and the neighbors, some along the creek, and some within our property. The woods are so dense in some parts that it would have been impossible to fence without the help of some heavy equipment.

So we hired the work to be done by someone who had the expertise and equipment. Once the path is clear, the Brothers will put up the fencing.

The equipment was a type of Bobcat with some scary looking attachments on the front. The attachments were a mulching head and hydro ax. The process was called "brush chipping," clearing the brush and producing wood chips. The front could be lifted while the blades were spinning, which shredded anything in its path. All the debris was thrown out in front. The operator was well protected in the cab behind caging.

We had to lock up the dogs while they were working because we didn't want them following or getting hit by the debris.

They also cleared some of the wooded area behind the chicken coop, and we had to lock up the chickens for awhile. 

It took almost 20 hours over three days to get it done. The paths are still very rough with lots of large debris that will need to be cleared at some point. We also need to add 4-5 culverts along the fence line.

Stepping Over

I discovered if I bend the chicken fencing post in the right direction, it will allow the fencing to lower so that I can step over the top of the fence. It has to be near a corner instead of the middle of the run, to allow some give. I'm not tall enough to step over the regular height, or agile enough to jump over.

For several months I was needing to put water and feed in one area for a sick chicken.

I would say I had a 90% success rate for clearing the fence. Ten percent of the time, my clunky boots got caught in the netting, and then I ended up on the ground. Most of the time they were soft falls rather than hard falls. Thankfully so far I haven't hurt myself.

Two Snakes

Looking out the window one morning, we noticed a little bundle that looked like a snake. When we went out to investigate, we discovered it was two snakes. The bigger one was wrapped around the smaller one. It was hard to tell if it was just choking it to death, or if it was trying to swallow it.

Both got the chop.

One was a copperhead. The other looked like a Speckled King Snake. They do eat other snakes, and kill their prey by constriction.