We ordered more chicks for round two of raising meat birds, and they were delivered the other day up at the post office. If you missed the first round, you can read about it here and here.
We ordered again from Murray McMurray, placing the order about a month before the delivery date. Son ordered 63 Cornish Cross straight run and got two extras for free. I added some egg laying chicks to the order, and got 6 Andalusians, 7 Red Star and 6 Black Star, hopefully all females. We also got a free "rare exotic" chick, but we haven't worked out yet which one it is. Some look very similar.
The brooder is set up again in the garage, but this time of year it is a little easier to control the heat.
And, by the way, Son managed to trap and kill the remaining wild dogs. So hopefully we won't have that trouble again. But we will still be watchful.
The dogs were barking again the other day and acting crazy over something in the yard. So I went out to investigate, as I do, with my camera.
This time it was a deflated helium balloon, bouncing along the ground. The dogs couldn't figure out if it was friendly or dangerous, so were just following it around.
I'd love to know where it came from and how long it had been floating around.
Well, it finally happened. I killed a snake. Yes, me, the one who usually screams at the sight. I've come a long way since that first snake I found out in the chicken coop four years ago. I won't blame you if you've forgotten, so you can read about it here and here. Lots of snakes have been killed since then, but not by me.
As I was locking up the chickens the other evening, something caught my attention from the corner of my eye. At first I thought it was a tree branch, but then as I got closer realized it was a snake.
I quietly came back in the house and calmly summoned Son for backup. Notice how much I've improved already? Quiet and calm. No running, no shrieking, no shouting.
But when we got back to the coop, the snake was gone. Since the light was fading, it was hard to see in the shadows. And just as we were going to give up and go back inside, I saw the snake, right at my feet!
With hoe in hand, and Son watching on the ready to rescue, I began my attack. I was very calm and deliberate, but also not a very accurate swing. Plus, who knew how thick snake skin is? Either that or my hoe needs a good sharpening.
Once Son was satisfied it was dead, he returned to the house. I wasn't fully convinced until the head was clearly detached. It took me about ten good whacks. But I did it.
For my birthday this year, I asked for a couple of nerdy knitting tools. I don't think anyone in the family really knew what they were, but once I provided a link, it was easy to purchase them.
You usually use the two tools together to wind yarn into a nice little "cake". Most nicer yarn is purchased in a "hank", which looks like a large twist of yarn. But this form isn't very user friendly, so needs to be opened up and wound into a ball.
The "swift" is the tool that you put the opened hank of yarn around. It looks a little like the insides of an umbrella. Once you get the yarn loosely around the edges of the swift, it will spin freely to allow the yarn to be wound.
The ball winder is the second tool, which rotates at an angle to wind the yarn into a manageable form. The yarn can be unwound from the inside or the outside of the cake.
I had seen it used in yarn shops, but had never tried to use one myself. They both came with good instructions so I was able to set them up on my kitchen counter.
And I'll include this little pink cardigan here, since I don't know where else to put it. This went to a sweet little baby at church.
We have some sandy patches around the house and I noticed recently several doodlebug holes. I hadn't paid much attention to them since I'm usually on the lookout for more dangerous things on the ground.
Doodlebugs remind me of my childhood when we would visit my grandmother in East Texas in the summer. All the yards had doodlebug holes. I can't even remember when I first noticed them, or who taught me how to get them to come out and play. If you take a small stick and stir the hole, the doodlebug will emerge enough to catch a glimpse. If you check later, it will have formed another perfect cone hole.
Doodlebugs are actually the Antlion insect in the larvae stage. They burrow in soft ground and make a cone-like hole, waiting for maturity when they turn into a lace winged insect and fly away.
I couldn't remember the little rhyme we used to say, so I did a little searching and found a few popular rhymes, all of which have something to do with coming out of their hole because some terrible thing is happening. Here's one:
Doodlebug, Doodlebug, fly away home.
Your house is on fire and your kids are all gone.
You can read more here.
Once the woods were cleared for the fencing (remind yourself here), we then had to wait for a good time for the Brothers to come do the work. We were hoping for some rain to make the ground softer, but mid-August didn't provide any. Some of the fence line was in the shade, but it was still very hot and humid.
It took the goats and dogs several days to get accustomed to the new space where they could roam freely.
