Chickens

 Yesterday with the help of a younger, stronger person I moved the coop to the winter HQ. Together we made some upgrades.  An expensive electric water bottle didn't work even though it was brand new so we went back to the rubber bucket method of watering. My pulley system of lifting the bucket of feet high so the chickens didn't soil their food didn't work so we suspended some other interesting things up there.  Actually I am not sure what is suspended up there. I haven't looked yet.  I used another watering dish to cover the food dish so they don't soil the food. The chickens have a fresh spot of prairie where they can stay until spring. They are parked on top of a big bergamot plant so we will see how that goes. I think the bergamot plant will look different in 2018 than it did in 2017. They got a boat load of fresh bedding so it is nice and cozy. A hole/skylight in the coop was repaired with duct tape in an attractive pattern. We even added holiday lights to the coop. Every time I look out the kitchen or bedroom or bathroom window to see the coop all decked out with holiday lights I can not suppress a chuckle. In the process of these chicken coop upgrades my friend thought it best to let the chickens have some freedom. I questioned that idea. Only Chickenson Caruso has been in and out of the coop long enough to know the ropes. But I agreed after he promised to help me round them up at the end of the day. We opened the door. The chickens weren't sure what to do except Chickenson Caruso.She knew the  drill.  She led the flock to freedom. All day they stayed close to the coop.At 5 p.m. we went to round up the girls. Within 5 minutes we had two chickens in the coop.  My friend felt confident we would get them all. I reminded him that panicked chickens are harder to catch. Within 10 minutes we had one in the coop.  Chickenson Caruso was loving the new bedding and had settled down comfortably. I went and found two ancient hockey sticks for my friend so he could guide the chickens in the direction he wanted them to go. I stood by and helped as best I could by singing songs about homesweethome. At 15 minutes we still had one in the coop.At 20 minutes we had two in the coop. At 30 minutes we had 2 in the coop.At 45 minutes of chasing chickens we had 2 in the coop. At 50 minutes we had 3 in the coop. I was surprised to see it was a cuckoo maran because I thought the Americaunas would be caught first. Now we had 3 chickens in the coop; one buff orpington, one cuckoo maran,and one Americauna.  I said I was cold and I was tired and I was hungry and would search for chickens for only 10 more minutes. Boy, we had some laughs today! What can a chicken owner do? I will set out some fresh food and water both inside the coop and outside the coop and see how it goes. I am not wandering around in the dark through the raspberry brambles and grape vines and spruce trees all night long. One would think a 3 pound bird would be easier to find! I still have half the flock so, in my opinion, the glass is half full.

Black Like Me

Disclaimer: I am not black. My melanin is uneven which is why I was never a fan of Freckle-face Strawberry flavored Kool-Aid. I am considered to be a white person with freckles and other lovely markings. Black Like Me  is a book written by John Howard Griffin. Mr. Griffin is also considered to be a white person. Whether Mr. Griffin is sane is a question I would ask but I am not sure he is still alive. He wrote this book in the same decade that I was born. This is a story of a white man who pretended to be black in Mississippi and Louisiana in the 19 freaking 50's! You can see why I question his sanity. He writes of his experience as if he were writing a grocery list. If any readers out there question why the streets and highways of Minneapolis were closed for protest reasons in recent years, just read this book. Then you will understand why black lives matter.

Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas

The Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas has been published.  Finally. I feel like I have been waiting for this publication for years. I volunteered for this project so my name is in there with some pretty famous (polish apple on sleeve) bird watchers. I had a lot of fun on this project.  I learned much about birds. I changed the way I view bird behavior.  I learned a lot of new roads near my house.  I got to go into the Scout Camp with permission even though I am  not a Boy Scout.  I made new friends. My block is T32R25a if you want to see my findings. I would do it again someday!

Voted

Last night I voted at my local precinct. I saw neighbors voting there too. I saw an unfamiliar neighbor who had a small girl child attached to her like a chimpanzee baby clings to it's mother. Being a grandmother of two girl children has opened my mouth so I start asking her questions.

1. Are you voting today? (she nods yes)
2. Are you old enough to vote? (she nods yes)
3. How old are you? (no answer)
4. 18? (no answer)
5. 21? (no answer but her mother prompts her to say she is two)
6. Is it legal for two year old to vote? (she nods yes)
7. Should your mommy vote? (she nods yes. At this point we voted and the conversation ended but I picked it up again as we left the church lobby)
8. Should your mommy run for office? (she says yes. Mommy says she doesn't have the time)
9. Should your mommy run for mayor? (she nods yes)
10. Should your mommy run for president? (she nods yes)
11. How about queen? (she nods yes and they get in the car and drive away).

Fall Transitions

Fall has come around again.  My priorities shift. I must empty that rain barrel!  I must mow and pick up these leaves! Forget the lawn and get a snow plow contract! Even the birds have shifting priorities. On Sunday I was lucky enough to be here for the cedar waxwing migration.  All the tiny crab apples were snarfed up by this noisy group of beautiful birds. I most enjoy watching them come to the slim pickings.  All the easy crab apples are gone and now all that is left are the ones at the very ends of the branches.  Cedar waxwings are acrobatic in their ability to hang upside down at the end of a bobbing branch to get that last sweet morsel. I went out to fill the bird feeders and standing there waiting for me are four turkeys.  They graciously stand aside so I can hang up the black sunflower seeds and peanuts. As I raise my arm to lift the bird feeder to to the hook a black capped chickadee touches my ear with it's right wing and lands on the feeder.  Geez Louise!  Hungry much? The weather is cold enough to put suet out again. All the woodpeckers were waiting. Hairy, downy, red bellied, pileated and Northern flicker return. I put another suet by my mailbox so my postal carrier can enjoy them too.  The wood peckers find the new suet location within a few days.  Someone ran over a possum at the end of my block. I come home Saturday night at dusk to see a red tailed hawk standing on my road having a possum burger. I come to a stop in my yellow car and gawk in awe as the hawk flies up with entrails trailing out of it's beak.  I walk my property and decide which plants I want to kill and which ones I want to nuture.  Buck thorn!  You are going down.  Poison Ivy?  You are going down! Goldenrod?  You can stay. Big blue stem? I love you so much I am going to come out here and burn you. Amur maple? I just don't know how to quit you. You are so pretty but you are spreading all over and I don't like that. Fall is difficult but not as difficult as the transition from youth to senior citizen. Peaches, once so delicious, taste terrible and apples are good again. The stores are full of pumpkin spice.  The decorations come and go so fast I don't know which holiday is next. I will transition with as much grace as possible.  Should I put snow tires on my car?  Oh, wait. Never mind.  Snow tires were important in the 1970's. Ironically that was when I could not afford any tires much less snow tires.  I remember one year my mother made ornaments for the tree out of milk weed pods. She carefully spray painted the milk weed pods with silver paint and lined the inside with red velvet. Then she glued tiny angelic figures inside.  The tiny white angels looked so pretty against the red velvet. This was a very long time ago; long before she transitioned to the "pagan" holiday tree of only bears. I find it comforting to know that what seems important today may not be important tomorrow.

A Ticking Time Bomb In My Pantry

My first attempt at making sauerkraut was a complete failure.  My second attempt at making sauerkraut was a success. I ate most of it myself and gave some away but it is all gone. So this time I thought I would try it again with a red cabbage.  I used the same recipe except no kohlrabi this time and a red cabbage instead of a green cabbage. The red cabbage was bigger than the green and it filled up my glass flip top container to the top. I took a couple cups of red cabbage back out before I put it in the pantry and covered it with a towel. I peeked the next day and saw the towel was blue. Hold the phone.  That towel with owls on it was white. How did it turn blue? I see the cabbage was fermenting much faster than the first batch. I opened the lid. Bright magenta fluid spewed out all over everything.  I rush the red mess to the kitchen sink. I clean up the red stains as best I can. I set the mixture back in a deeper bowl this time and cover it up with an older kitchen towel. I have washed that kitchen towel twice now but I still see a blue stain. During the last batch of fermenting sauerkraut I opened the lid once a week.  This batch I open the lid every day to burp the sauerkraut and I put it in the kitchen sink before I open the lid. I do not need to be stained twice to learn my lesson. Every day now I open my pantry door with trepidation. I am afraid my kitchen towel will turn blue! How can a red cabbage stain blue?  Isn't red a primary color? This batch of sauerkraut, if it turns out to be edible, is going to work some powerful fermentation magic on my belly!

Deer Hunting Opener

I caught one! This dear deer must be able to read my mind and intuit my stand on gun control.