Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Busy Times


Yep, we all been busier than a one-eyed cat watching 9 mouse holes around here.  The garden has died down a good bit so I let the pullets in for the last 3 or 4 days to clean up for me and boy, they have been goin' to town!  They have scratched and dug and picked and had the time of their lives eating everything in sight, although they are pretty good to leave most of the larger plants alone like the peas and beans and such.  I'll go out there about twice a day and dig around for them where the dirt is real loose.  They get so excited they jump in and start digging too and pretty soon there are so many of them scratching in my spot I don't have room to dig anymore.  They are not able to dig quite as hard and deep as the big hens so they are not as destructive but they clean up the place good and clear out lots of the bugs and grubs.


The poor little things got in a fire ant bed though and I felt bad but couldn't help but laugh too.  They couldn't resist eating the ants and their eggs but were getting their feet bit from standing in the ants.  So, they would stand there and when the ants started biting, the chicks would start stomping their feet but were too greedy to leave.  If I had had some bluegrass music to play it would have looked like chicken buck dancing!  I laughed until I was cryin' just about and they would finally get enough and then run away and pick the ants off their feet.  Edit:  let me stress that I do NOT think it was funny that the chicks were getting bit, in fact I tried to run them out of the ants, but they insisted on running right back to eat the critters.  But seeing them all stomping their feet like that was funny.


They especially liked the coldframe once I turned some of the soil for them.  It was very loose so they could scratch through it easily and they got it all ready for me to plant now.


Hey, those are some funny looking chickens right there!  Well, somebody dumped these 2 little sweeties down at the end of my drive about a week ago.  Chigger actually found them hiding in the weeds when we walked down to check the mail, so I brought them up to the house and we have been trying to find homes for them.  No luck so far.  Grendal does not tolerate other cats well and I don't want any more in the house anyway, so they have been staying in the Goober Chicken Memorial Pen in the henhouse.  They actually seem to really enjoy it and the chickens don't really seem to mind them either.


And I have actually started on the kitchen in earnest since we about have the outside done!  My cabinet guy came Monday and got his measurements so those are being built now.  Things are slow for those trades right now so he said he should have them ready in 2-3 weeks!  Which means I have really got to get my butt in gear to be ready for them.  Yes, that is corrugated metal roofing going on the wall and it is a dark chocolate color.  I'll explain more about that later.  I know the whole kitchen looks kinda dark in this photo but it's not really.  My appliances are all stainless steel but they reflect the dark of the wall making them appear black too.  It will lighten up and be much more colorful when I am done.  I also got the wiring and ductwork for the range vent done and have closed up that wall and chase.  That is the big grey block on the right.  That is Durock covering that wall as it will get tile and stone over all of it.  You can see the ductwork poking out where the vent goes.  So, things are going but I have so much to do in this one area.  I am really excited about it and anxious to finish though.

13 comments:

ErinFromIowa said...

What good bones you have my dear! This is going to be fun to watch.

Pablo said...

I'm afraid to google what "buck dancing" is.

Ed said...

Ditto what Pablo said!

The kitchen is looking good. I can't wait to see the finished product.

Ed said...

I bit. I googled it. If you had said hillbilly tap dancing, I think I would have understood from the get go. I found Thomas Maupin who evidently is the champion buck dancer!

Caddie said...

I had an uncle who did buck-dancing. I actually saw no fun to the whole shebang myself. No one was smiling, much less laughing as they did their stepping and stomping.

Those fireants die when sprinkling diatomaceous earth on the nests. DE is great for many things. I bet feeding the chickens DE would be a benefit also. Food Grade, of course.

I believe a few chickens here is in order; sure will save me much labor working the garden beds.

Jenn said...

"...corrugated metal roofing going on the wall and it is a dark chocolate color."

NICE! That high gloss is going to look great.

Jenn said...

Also, corrugated is high style right now. I work for a firm that is building very expensive housing in the Tahoe area, and we are using a lot of corrugated (A606 aka CorTen) on the exterior walls.

You want me to detail that door and wall for you? I can draw it up just right!

More seriously, I do look forward to seeing how you trim the door frame/surround on that wall. I'm certain it will be quite creative!

Jenn said...

I took a clog dancing class once. I suspect it's related.

MamaHen said...

Hey Erin! I think it's going to be fun to build too!

Hey Pablo! you've never heard of buck dancing??!! I would think that would be a common thing in the Ozarks. :)

Hey Ed! Yeah, I can't wait to see the finished product too!
I think if I had said clogging more people might have know what I was talking about but I'm kinda surprised at the number that didn't know what buck dancing was.

Hey Sissy! I have actually wanted to take lessons for some time; it's common around here and looks like fun with these people! lol!
I tried the DE today; we'll see what they look like tomorrow.

Hey Jenn! well, actually it is more of a satin or semi-gloss in person. I generally detest high gloss anything; it shows every little defect you know! lol!
My door trim is going to be fairly simple I hate to say. ha! I guess I could cap all the openings with steel channel but that crap is heavy! I imagine your details would be quite nice!
Yes, clogging is very similar to buck dancing.

Aunty Belle said...

Spoiled chicks! Lucky li'l peeps!

MamaHen said...

Hey Aunty! yes, very!

Sal said...

Just wanted to let you know how much I am enjoying my mugs- it is starting to turn back to Fall here in Maine which means a return to warmer morning drinks and your beautiful mugs are front and center. Thank you!

MamaHen said...

Hey Sal! no, thank you!! I'm so happy to hear you are enjoying them. I love to hear that.