Sometimes, we need a bit of levity in our lives, and having a cockerel (young rooster) ride around in your jacket provides it. Of course, it’s risky putting an animal in your jacket (or pocket, for that matter) because they poop. A lot. And wherever they happen to be…and if that’s in your jacket, well, you see where that’s going. Regardless, the risk is outweighed by the sheer fun of having a friendly chicken snuggle into your jacket. And if there’s poop…it happens.
Category: Homesteading / Farming
Spring Farm Babies: Precocious Pasture Piglets
Spring is commonly viewed as a time of renewal and new beginnings, and while it’s not technically here yet, it certainly feels springlike: birds are singing, grass is growing, trees are budding, and babies are being born. You caught that – born, not hatched? We’re pleased to welcome our first litter of pasture piglets!
Continue reading “Spring Farm Babies: Precocious Pasture Piglets”Haiku: Wicked Thorns
If you have hedge apple trees (also called Osage Orange), you know about the long, sharp thorns. It makes sense that it was once used as natural fencing – who or what would dare push through that? Having tangled with it more than once, I keep this particular tree pruned back so that none of the spines are at eye level (!), yet leave enough branches to create an aerial predator-unfriendly shelter for the fowl (though those thorns can also get stuck in their feet and result in bumblefoot). I consider this a truce of sorts, being extremely loath to cut down any trees.
For those who like to look for hidden meanings in poetry – as I do – perhaps this poem could also be metaphorical. Who knows?
Musings: Mice Count, Too
When I went to refresh the pigs’ water bowl this morning, I found a dead field mouse floating in it. The pigs currently live in the barn until the pastures are ready for them to return (in the spring), so mice aren’t surprising…but this is the second mouse to meet its end in the bowl.
Haiku: Bursting Forth
It’s hatching day for Silverudd’s Blue and Olive Egger eggs! At last check, the first external pip was on an SB egg (it pipped the wrong end, which isn’t necessarily a problem), and an Olive Egger had also made a nice, large crack in its shell. Over the next couple of days, there should be fluffballs running around the incubator and, when they’re ready, the brooder. If you like cute chick pics, stay tuned!
Musings: Why We Choose To Eat Less Meat
Are you wondering why we post frequently about about meatless meals, since we raise and process our own livestock? Does it seem contradictory to eat animals we raise and also eat vegetarian (or vegan) food? It’s really not…and it’s part of a healthy flexitarian diet.