Waking up to spring on the Homestead

It was so beautiful out this morning that I had to grab my camera and go for a walk with Emma kitty. Here are a few shots of what spring looks like on the homestead.

I have a busy weekend ahead, but I'm so glad I was able to carve out a little time to be creative. I feel like it is so important to have unstructured "play" time to recharge. And for me, there's no better way to recharge than this. Nature, animals, photography...give me those three things and I'm a happy girl!

~Tammy

Balance

Oh, how I've missed you guys! I didn't get a chance to post last week because I started a new job on Monday that kept me very busy. But it's good busy, because I'm loving it so far (I'm a paralegal in the real estate/finance division of a company). It's much more demanding than my previous job, and I've found it has been a struggle to balance work, homestead demands, and the blog.

We're seeing more and more signs of spring around here lately, and our garden work is in full swing. Lots of seeds planted in the garden already with tons of seedlings growing indoors. Our vineyard is set up and ready to go when our vines arrive, which can't be soon enough! We also recently planted 30 trees (10 pecan, 10 persimmon, and 10 evergreens) as part of our digging in goal for the year since these trees will take many years to grow and produce for us.

Of course there are cats, chickens, guineas, a dog (and a husband) to feed every day, so that keeps me busy as well.

Baby waiting not so patiently for her food.

So with all of that, the blog had to take a back seat this week while I figure things out. My good blogging buddy, Jackie, reminded me that blogging should be fun, not another thing on your to do list. And this week, it was more of a thing on my to do list. She knows a thing or two about balance, so I will listen to her advice.

 This one's for you, Reifyn.

I'm not sure going forward how regular my blogging schedule will be, so if I'm away for longer than normal, things probably just got a little bit hectic around here. With spring and summer coming up and the gardening work getting even more time consuming, I do see that happening.

I had a few people check in on me last week to make sure everything was ok (thank you guys!) so I thought I'd just let you all know what is happening right now. I won't be around to visit you all as often as I did before, but please know that I still care and I do think about you all the time!

~Tammy

Feathered Friend Friday: Coop Ventilation

Welcome to our "Feathered Friend Friday" series. Each Friday I write a post with facts, photos, or funny stories about our chickens and guineas. If you need to catch up, you'll find all the Feathered Friend Friday posts here.  

Sometimes it can be hard to know if there is adequate ventilation in the chicken coop, but there is one surefire way to tell - your nose. We have been using the deep litter method in our coop for years now and it has always worked out well for us. However, recently the coop has been a little too stinky in the mornings when I let out the chickens. We do have 18 chickens in the coop, so that is a lot of poo overnight! Once I began to detect a hint of ammonia, I knew we did not have enough ventilation and air flow.

To remedy the issue, David got to work with his drill and a 4 1/2" round bit to create ventilation holes at the top of the coop far above the roosts. Placing the ventilation up high ensures that no drafts will hit the chickens while they are roosting overnight.

Instead of just cutting out a large area of the coop, he made lots of these little circles so it would be nearly impossible for potential predators to fit inside. He also stapled some 1/2" hardware cloth on the inside of the coop to cover the holes and keep everything out.

David cut several of these ventilation holes around the top of the coop and they are definitely working because I haven't noticed a smell at all. An added benefit is that they let in extra light. We don't have any windows in the coop (our coop is a transformed garden shed) so it can get dark in there. But now there's a little extra light for us and the chickens. And the circles actually look kind of cute from the outside!

Even though it has been very cold lately (this morning it was 1 degree!) ventilation is still necessary. As long as the chickens stay dry and drafts aren't hitting them directly, they can withstand very cold temperatures. Cutting down the moisture in the coop by adding extra air flow also helps to prevent frostbite because the main culprit in frostbite cases is excess moisture, not cold temperatures.

I think the chickens and our coop kitty, Emma, are enjoying the extra light and the stink-free zone.

How do you add ventilation to your chicken coop?

~Tammy

Shared with Maple Hill Hop 

Feathered Friend Friday: Good Morning Chickies

Welcome to our "Feathered Friend Friday" series. Each Friday I write a post with interesting facts, photos, or funny stories about our chickens and guineas. If you need to catch up, you'll find all the Feathered Friend Friday posts here. 

I just love my morning routine. The best part of it is when I get to let the chickens out for the day. I can hear them grumbling and complaining as I reach the coop because they don't like to be locked up for even one minute after the first light.

When I open up the big coop door, I get out of the way lest I'm trampled by the eager hens waiting impatiently just on the other side. The sight of my happy chickens makes me so happy that I can't help but greet them with a joyful "good morning."

The chickens can't wait to come out, and the guineas can't wait to get in and eat some of their food. And yes, that is Emma at the end of the video! She sleeps in the chicken coop each night now. Adding to my belief that she truly thinks she is a chicken herself.

Some mornings I have special treats for the chickens, and this morning it was the remnants of a spaghetti squash from our dinner last night (check back next week for the recipe!). I thought they'd enjoy pecking and pulling at the last remaining strands of squash, and I was right.

Of course I couldn't leave out Duchess. I always save my peanut butter jars when I'm done with them so she can lick out the last bits at the bottom that I couldn't get to. A dog with peanut butter is a happy dog!

We've been keeping chickens for over four years now, so this has been my morning routine for quite a while. I wouldn't have it any other way!

~Tammy

Almost Wordless Wednesday

The last photo I took of our sweet Sylvester. Right by Emma's side, of course. I have been trying to spend lots of time with Emma since Sylvester has been gone to make the transition easier. She seems to be adjusting well and is becoming quite the independent girl.

I still miss Sylvester every day, but I have the most precious memories of our time with him. For that I am so thankful!

~Tammy

PS - Don't forget to visit Daisy, Staci and Sue today for their posts in the Homemade Living series. Next week I will share my post along with Mary and Jackie.

Feathered Friend Friday: Playing In The Leaves

Welcome to our "Feathered Friend Friday" series. Each Friday I write a post with interesting facts, photos, or funny stories about our chickens and guineas. If you need to catch up, you'll find all the Feathered Friend Friday posts here.     

This is what it looks like in our neck of the woods right now.

Leaves everywhere! Which means it is a chicken playground. They absolutely love playing in the leaves and scratching away at holes to try to find hidden bugs and other delectable treats. With the decreasing daylight, it's hard for me to find time to let them out for supervised free ranging, but I do try to oblige whenever I can. It's so fun to sit and watch as everyone comes out to play.

Of course Duchess stands out amongst the leaves, but Emma kitty is pretty well camouflaged along with some of the chickens, like Red. I can't believe how well they blend in!

Once the daylight starts to fade, the chickens begin to make their way back to the safety of the coop to settle in for the night. Most of them head back before it gets too dark, but some of the younger girls like to stay out as late as they possibly can.

After the chickens have made their way to the coop, the guineas gather around for one last feather preening session as the sun sets, just before flying up into the trees to roost for the night.

Such a peaceful, calm way to end the day. I know the chickens enjoy their supervised free ranging time, but I think I may actually enjoy it even more.

~Tammy

Our Sweet Sylvester

If you've been reading our blog for a while, you know that our tuxedo cat, Sylvester, has been such a big part of this blog ever since he made his way to our homestead several years ago. I have been putting off this post for as long as possible, but I think I am finally ready to share the news.

We had to say goodbye to Sylvester on Saturday. It was one of the most difficult decisions I've ever had to make. He had gone missing for about five days, which is totally unlike him, so I was beginning to think something was wrong. He showed back up one night early last week looking very sick and lethargic. I took him to the vet and he had a high fever as a result of a really bad infection. He was put on strong medication and given fluids through an IV because he was severely dehydrated. I brought him home and kept him in the garage to continue his care, but he refused to eat or drink. After several days I took him back to the vet because I knew he couldn't survive much longer without food or water, and she suggested running some blood work on him. They found that he tested positive for feline immunodeficiency virus and as a result, his immune system was so weakened that he couldn't fight off his infection. He had lost so much weight and was refusing to eat or drink and didn't have much strength at all. He was obviously suffering and would not recover, so I made the tough call to have our vet put him to sleep on Saturday.

I spent as much time with him as I could on Friday, and even brought him into our guest room so I could cuddle with him and say my goodbyes. I ended up sleeping with him for a few hours until he got up and went under the bed, almost like he had said his goodbye to me and was ready to go.

Sylvester was such a character, and was the most loving cat I've ever known. It amazed me the first time I saw him cuddle up to our big dog, Duchess. He welcomed our new kitty, Emma, to the homestead and showed her that it was safe here (since she had direct contact with Sylvester, we will be getting Emma tested for FIV sometime in the future).

He was a loyal companion on our walks in the woods and was never far behind. Occasionally he would get distracted by something and fall a little behind, but I'd just call to him and he would run to catch up.

Words can't express how much I will miss him. I'm just so happy that he found his way to our home and I got him to stick around. I feel blessed that I got to know him and be a part of his life, if it was only for a couple years. He will always have a piece of my heart.

As soon as I went out to my car after the vet on Saturday, church bells were ringing. It was almost like he was being welcomed into Heaven and it gave me such peace. I know he is having a blast in Heaven right now with all our other furry and feathered friends we've had to say goodbye to in the past. In his final moments on the Earth, I was petting him and telling him how much he was loved, and he went out purring. I can't think of a better way to say goodbye.

~Tammy

Feathered Friend Friday: Coop Kitty

Welcome to our "Feathered Friend Friday" series. Each Friday I write a post with interesting facts, photos, or funny stories about our chickens and guineas. If you need to catch up, you'll find all the Feathered Friend Friday posts here.    

I often refer to our outdoor cat, Emma, as the coop kitty, but I didn't realize how true that was until last weekend when I found her in a most unusual place.

I headed to the coop to check for eggs and discovered her in the nesting box right beside Feather Legs! It totally cracked me up, but Emma just sat there looking at me like it was the most natural thing in the world for a cat to hang out in nesting boxes with a chicken.

Feather Legs didn't seem to mind her presence, except for when Emma thought she'd stick her paw through a hole in the divider between the boxes and give Feather Legs a little encouraging tap on the wing. Feather Legs wouldn't have any of that and gave Emma a good peck. Emma respectfully kept her distance after that warning peck!

Praying hard to the egg Gods :)

After I had collected the eggs laid so far that day and was ready to leave the coop, Emma stayed at her post. I thought she would run after me and play like she normally does, but apparently she was serious about trying to lay an egg. Sometimes I think she believes she is a chicken!

~Tammy

Shared with From the Farm Blog Hop, Down Home Blog Hop  

Clearing The Camera: Early Fall Edition

It's looking more and more like fall around here! I find myself constantly reaching for my camera, so I thought I'd share a few of my current shots. (PS - click here if you'd like to see more photo posts.)

Newly fallen leaves create a vivid blanket of color on the ground.

Early morning dew hangs like pearls on the strands of a spider web.

Emma kitty's eyes pop against the still green grass.

A slowly ripening pumpkin looks beautiful with the fallen leaves.

What signs of fall are you seeing out your back door?

~Tammy

Shared with Tuesday Muse 

PS - Don't forget to visit Daisy, Staci and and our new blogger, Sue, today for their posts in the Homemade Living series. Next week I will share my post along with Mary and Jackie.

Sylvester & Emma

Saturday was the perfect lazy day. I got home really late Friday night after seeing The Lumineers in St. Louis with my sister (it was awesome!) and wanted to just relax on Saturday. The chilly, dark, rainy weather was conducive to lounging, so David and I enjoyed couch time under a pile of blankets.

Mid-afternoon, I peeked out the kitchen door to see how all the animals were doing, and noticed Sylvester making himself cozy on the back porch while hiding from the rain.

I gave him a little pet and went back inside for some more couch time. A bit later, I peered back out the door again and this time saw Sylvester had a cuddle buddy.

No matter your species, rainy weekend days truly are best spent cuddling with those you love. Just when I thought they couldn't get any cuter, this happened.

It has been so heartwarming to see how Sylvester has taken Emma under his wing (er, paw?) and welcomed her to our homestead. I didn't expect anything less of him, because he has shown us in the past that he is a lover, not a fighter. Seeing these two together always makes me smile and makes my day that much brighter.

Do any of your animals have special bonds?

~Tammy

Shared with From the Farm Blog Hop, Tuesday Muse  

Feathered Friend Friday: Random 5

I've always wanted to join in with my friend Nancy for her fun Random 5 Friday series, but since I always do a feathered friend post on Fridays I figured I wouldn't be able to submit anything. Then I realized I could write five random feathered friend facts, so here we go!

1. Roosters don't only crow in the mornings. They crow ALL DAY LONG. Sometimes I hear Cam crowing in the middle of the night! Most people who visit the homestead are surprised when they hear our roosters crowing loudly in the afternoon or evening.

2. You probably know by now that I love me a fluffy chicken butt. I try not to discriminate, but I have to say, Buff Orpingtons have some glorious fluff.

3. I love the colorful eggs my current layers give me, but I'm really excited for our Welsummer pullet to start laying. She will lay a dark brown, almost terra cotta colored egg!

4. Our coop kitty, Emma, is learning from Sylvester to watch over the chickens while they're out free ranging. I'm not sure what kind of damage she could do to a predator, but it's cute that she stands guard.

5. It seems like the chickens are always on the go and scratching for treats, but occasionally they take breaks. It always makes me laugh when I see them sitting down like this because they look like living versions of hens on nests!

~Tammy

Shared with Random 5 Friday

They Grow Up Too Fast!

We took the kitties in for another round of shots over the weekend, and they are now both over four pounds! It seems like each time we take them in they double in size (right now they get a set of shots every three weeks). Gizmo is done with his shots, but we have to take Emma in one more time. The vet said since their baby teeth had already fallen out, she estimates they are both around 13 weeks old. We are definitely going to get them fixed, but we have to wait until they are about six months old.

They were both ready to get back home and out of those carriers! Emma handles it better than Gizmo - he was constantly sticking his legs out the holes in the front of the carrier and desperately trying to escape (he scratched up his nose pretty good as a result).

As we arrived home, I noticed Sylvester patiently waiting for his friend Emma to return (we keep Emma outside and Gizmo stays inside).

Reunited and it feels so good.

They love to play together and Sylvester takes such good care of her. He used to be gone all day long and just came home to eat, but now he hangs out by the chicken coop with Emma all day and keeps an eye on her. It's the sweetest thing! As soon as we got Gizmo back to the house, he ran for cover in his cozy spot under the bed and napped most of the day. I guess the visit really took a lot out of him!

~Tammy

Shared with Tuesday Muse