Jeff and I couldn't wait until Christmas to try out our new 48-egg incubator with an egg turner! Our naturally broody Rhode Island hen was run over last spring and no other hen - of any breed - has stepped up to take on the role of "broody hen." So, we decided to get an egg incubator...although, it was supposed to be a Christmas present from "Santa." I guess you could say we're just a couple of kids at heart because we couldn't wait until Christmas to use it! About 10 days into our new "venture," Jeff candled an egg and as you can see from this photo...IT'S ALIVE!!! Out of 15 eggs, only 6 ended up hatching! Though, 12 of the eggs were eggs Jeff bought online and of the 12 only 1 hatched! So, I doubt we'll be using Craigslist for that kind of purchase, again. I believe all 5 of the eggs pulled from our chickens hatched successfully, so that's good! They're awfully cute and it will be fun to watch them grow during the winter and put them with the others this spring!
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During a segment called, "What's Makin' That Racket?" a video my son filmed featuring me "burping" our late broad-breasted white turkey appropriately named, "Thanksgiving" was featured on America's Funniest Home Videos. I never thought my "15 seconds" of "fame" would be related to AFV, but considering all the other - not so pleasant - forms of "fame" out there...I'll take it! Enjoy! The Shiawassee River runs along the west side of our family farm property and has since it was established in 1865! Recently, the State of Michigan, owners of the Shiatown Dam, decided to remove the dam - even after my family and neighbors voiced our opinions against the dam's removal. The Shiatown dam spillway barriers were removed in October 2012 and since that time we have seen a DRASTIC difference in the river. As you can see in the pictures (above), the view from my parent's back hill of the river used to be beautiful...now the Shiawassee River should be called the Shiawassee Trickle! It's AWFUL! You can jump from shore to shore...that is, IF you can get to the river without sinking into the muddy mess! Now that a grant has funded the rest of the dam's removal, it is scheduled to be removed by 2015. If you think the photos above are disturbing...just wait until the dam is completely gone... Gideon and I managed to muck out the shed, last weekend...boy, was I sore the next day! UGH! I'm getting too old for this crap (literally)! Anyhow, put down a thick layer of straw on the floor of the coop, added fresh cedar chips to the nest boxes that needed it, and we bought enough straw to last the winter. We also took about half of the mucked out litter and dumped it in a hollowed out terrace we made out of cut sod earlier this summer. Jeff would like to plant a tree in the center of each of the terraces (there are three in total) and fill in with topsoil. I, on the other hand, would have liked to lay a huge double hung window over one of the hollowed our terrace squares and used it as a cold frame. Technically, I could still do that, but I will have to get "buy in" from Jeff before that happens - I need his help to move the huge window!
I still have to figure out how to harvest the sorghum by hand, but I was able to find instructions on how to harvest the sunflowers via google! That's right...I "googled" it! So, I cut off one of the heads from the sun flowers and we're experimenting with different seed harvesting techniques. Because the seeds came from a reputable seed company, we plan on keeping the seeds from the largest head and planting them next year. You can't do that with GMO seeds! We also sold my old car...FINALLY! We didn't get much for it, but the money will help us pay off one bill (that's better than nothing, right?). The thing had been sitting for 4 months. We found coolant in the engine oil, so we IMMEDIATELY parked it! Don't worry, all of this has been disclosed to the buyers. Unlike some people in society, I can't knowingly screw people over and look at myself in the mirror each day. That's not the kind of person I am. Anyhow, we're happy to FINALLY be rid of it! Now...if we could just get rid of the broken lawn mower, our yard wouldn't look half bad! |
AuthorMary Keyes is the Curriculum Assistant for the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine's Leadership in Medicine for the Underserved (LMU) Certificate Program and the Medical Partners in Public Health (MD-PH) Certificate Program. She is a wife, mother, and a "Permaculturist Wannabe" who strives to educate others about Permaculture through design, workshops, and real-life applications. Archives
June 2017
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