the New Chickens

Just over a month ago someone from RedCliff Ascent gave me six Rhode Island Red pullets. Their coloring is so much alike that it is hard to tell them apart. Three of the pullets will allow me to touch them, and three will not. They remind me of my brother Warren's chicken, Chipper. I haven't named them yet, but one will soon have a name - she always attack my shoe strings of the tie at the bottom of my pants. These chickens are penned behind the big cargo box. It will be at least another month before they will start laying eggs. Anyone want to come over for an omlet?

VARMINTS

There was a varmint attack at our house on Sunday morning. It came without warning and we never saw the varmint. The road yard men were out and working by 6 a.m., plowing the snow, and I think they must have awaken the smelly skunk. I have been teasing the guys about keeping the skunk for a mascot. None of our animals were sprayed, but I am guessing our back door must have gotten it, and the stench accumulated inside the house. We made it to church with some of the smell still clinging to our garments. When we got home we opened all the doors and windows and changed the air inside the house. Now the smell is gone except for a faint smell around the back door. I am thinking about phoning a neighbor boy to take care of the "situation".

In our lives, sometimes we get attacked with stinking things - fear, distractions, lies, disasters, dirt, and more that try to pollute us and turn us from the right way of living for God. God's Word is both protection and cleansing from such attacks.
Philippians 4:8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, let me say one more thing as I close this letter. Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

Winter morning

It sure was hard to talk myself into going outside at 5:40 this morning. When Ari and I got home last evening it was already a negative 2*. It really didn't fall much more during the night, but coming out of a nice warm bed makes it hard.

Blackberry and Carmel quickly got up on their feet when I brought them grain. They must be very hungry at this stage of pregnancy. Blackberry is due to kid on March 1st and Carmel on March 12th. Last year both these goats had triplets, and that is what I am expecting from the size of them again this year.

The big pen has an open shed and four animals - two milking does (Lollipop and Miracle) a pregnant doeling (Lucy Lou, who is due on May 2nd) and a five month old Holstein steer named Ole. I was so glad this morning to see that Ole was sleeping outside. He makes such a mess. The goats don't like messes. They like their living quarters clean and dry.

Blessings of the morning included that all five of the snap clips that I use on gates and tie ropes were not frozen shut and that the fog on my glasses from sitting next to the goats while I milk did not obstruct my vision seriously. The sunrise is going to be spectacular on this big white valley. I am curious to know if the local skunk is going to be up and stinking this morning. I smell him most mornings but have never once seen him, nor have the dogs gotten close to him.

Looking at...

I live in the middle of a high desert valley. The view from here is beautiful and interesting. I never get tired of looking - at the sky, clouds, weather, mountains, vegetation and closer to my pets and livestock, and the activities of the road yard, traffic on the highway. It is winter now and I have been doing a lot of horizontal and down looking. I bundle up for the weather with a stocking cap, and it has a tendency to slide down into my line of vision. I even have a bruise on my forehead right now to prove it. I also put my head down during snow and rain to protect my face. In other words - sometimes it is hard to look in the distance and to look up.

Today I was feeding the goats, sheep and calf hay around 1 p.m. All was calm in the barnyard. This is purely routine stuff. There were no dogs loose to put the critters on alert. All of a sudden, all the goats ran for shelter, while the calf just ate hay. I searched the ground to find a reason for such behavior. I saw nothing to warrant the fright. Then I looked up - there was a good sized hawk flying over the goat pen. So my goats were paying attention even though the hay was their main focus. A similar incident happened last spring; same time of day, same activity scenario. That time I looked up and saw a big black plastic bag floating by on the wind.


So, what are you looking at: Luke 21:25-28 NIV There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.

I want to be looking up, for Jesus.

Dogs and Cats

Dogs and cats: we have two young male cats. That is about the right number to keep the mice at bay, though I have to feed them too. There are four dogs here - that is two or three too many, but for various reasons, they are here. Shadow, German Shepherd, is half scared of the cats. Larado, half Border Collie, sits on the back porch and the cats climb onto him and sit there - warm and secure. The younger dogs, Drover and Tovi want the cats to play with them, but the cats aren't scared. This afternoon, the cat called Ranger sat under a small trailer that Tovi can reach while chained. Ranger knows the exact spot he can sit without the dog being able to reach him. So Tovi enlisted the help of Drover to move the cat. Sorry dogs, it didn't work. I watched you for half an hour from the big dinning room window. Later, when I was outside doing the evening feeding and milking, I saw the same two young dogs playing tug-o-war. It was getting dark, sun already down, and light snow falling, but I didn't recognize the piece they were tugging on. So, I hollered at the dogs. They dropped Ranger and he casually sauntered off. Silly critters.

Wind and Weather

We have no choice of the wind and weather that comes our way. This valley gets lots of wind, we do live in an earthquake zone and because of the elevation, we can get big temperature swings in short time spans. This area is classified as desert, but we did get a flood in our valley in the winter of 2004, that was quite an experience. Since we cannot make choices of weather, I see no reason to complain either.
We have winter weather heading our way. It is actually fun to watch it. I expected to wake up to white ground this morning, instead I saw a big moon and lots of stars. Temperature was a "toasty" 32*, but the wind was the miserable piece. The wind caused waves in the livestock water tubs that prevented ice from forming. How nice!?! So with such good weather, I did a wash load of towels and hung them on the line. My fingers got painfully cold, but that is expected at this time of year, no big deal. As the sun came up the wind picked up. We had a good thirty mile an hour wind going by 11 a.m.. I had to ask Ari to hold the laundry basket so that I could take the towels in (some from the line and some from the ground).
I dress in layers for winter weather. I have ok gear, but sure nothing to look at. I feel sorry for the goats when I have to milk them with cold fingers, but I try to wear gloves when it is cold. The dogs think my gloves are great toys, whether they are laying on the ground or on my fingers. I do not enjoy the wind because it blows the hay around. DO NOT put on chap stick before feeding hay and wear tight clothing to prevent it from sifting down through all the layers. Oh well, I do admit there is usually some green leafy material that comes off in the shower. I think snow is beautiful and usually enjoy it more than rain. (Let me see, the snow shovel is in the lean-to). During one snow storm about Thanksgiving, maybe three years back, we let some stranded strangers spend the night on our living room floor. Poor folks, they were headed all the way from California to Maine.
Rural living - this county does NOT close school for bad weather. I hear my favorite Christian radio station in Colorado Springs announcing school closures and delays. Guess what - no such thing here. A bus run may be suspended as happened here during the floods. One bus (0f about 20) was sent home early and then missed a full day.
Chickens can be real funny in the wind. Mostly they just hunker down in a sheltered place, but when they move across the back yard, the wind hits them in the side and their feathers are all messed and out of place and very often they have problems getting to their destination in a straight line. Another funny thing with chickens is that they have no traction on ice. I have seen chickens blown the 20 foot length of a frozen ice puddle in the back yard. And I have such a good view out a big window in the dining room.
The sheep just seem to take the weather in stride, after all, look at their insulation. My sheep are young, so this is their first winter experience, but last year the three year old ewe just laid down where ever she chose and there she was.
The goats are fussy, fussy, fussy. They complain about the heat, the wind, the snow, the rain, the... I think I have my animals penned in such a way that there is room for everyone under a roof. In the big pen, the calf usually sleeps in the shed and the goats outside as sleeping by a calf is beneath their dignity. Tonight I expect a 150 pound goat to push the 300 pound calf out or lay beside him. My only question is if the the 150 three year old goat will "allow" the 125 pound yearling goat to share the roof. Poor Miracle, she doesn't have a buddy to hang out with and most of the other goats push her around and pick on her. I will be watching closely, but not sure what to do if Lollipop will not give her shed space. How can I tell Miracle that she can hide behind Ole, the calf for shelter and warmth?
Cold is not bad without wind. I own a couple sets of long johns. The last couple of winter we had very cold and enduring temperatures. I got to wondering how life would feel without long johns. I even had most of poem written in my head called "Life After Long Johns", but I never wrote it down. I could have another chance to do that this winter.
Lord of all creation - watch over us as we have winter.

Animals

In my daily interaction with my farmyard full of goats, calves, sheep, chickens, dogs, cats and a rabbit, I have lots of time to observe and think. The animals have a pretty good "relationship" with me. They look to me as their provider and caretaker and maybe even friend. Interactions within species are not the same by any means, in any dream.

The chickens have a definite pecking order. Big papa rooster, Mr. Magnificent, rules the roost. He gets his way, and he sort of looks after the hens, calls them to share food he finds. He has never caused trouble with me, but some roosters will attack people. The "teenaged" chickens mostly just stay out of the way of all the older chickens.

There are only two sheep here now. Elizabeth is older than Gourdo by a month or so. She is a go getter. Gourdo does what she does. They like to bounce around their pen and are very noisy, always demanding more grain or hay.

I only have one Holstein steer calf at this time. His name is Ole. He keeps a pretty cool head most of the time. He lets Lollipop, a three year old milk goat, push him around. Ole lives for food, first his bottle of milk and then grain and milk.

Goats - I could talk about them for a long time. There are two goats that want to be queen and I rarely let them get together. I am afraid that one of them will be injured in the fray. Blackberry is seven years old and now two months pregnant. Lollipop is three years old and milking over a gallon a day. Both of them have a favorite goat to pick on and will run at them with head down from across the pen for no decernable reason. Oh how I wish there was some way to tell the goats to be kind to each other. They don't have to be in such competition.

The Bible says that God created people in his own image. There are so many differences between people and animals. It is God who made us and them. God calls us to be stewards of his creation. We don't have to act like animals. We can value and care for each other.