Here it is the Fall of the year.  The birds are calming down a bit......almost.  Their new feathers are growing in and tempers are mellowing, slowly.

It has been a very hot, dry, drought of a spring and summer here in Texas, again.  Due to this drought, I had more encounters with snakes than I care to see in a life time.  My most memorable encounter to date is the copper head snake determined to make one of the humming bird feeders its home.  I will share two pictures of two different days of this snake visit.

The first day, I was going out on the deck to fetch the feeders to clean and refill......I stopped suddenly when I saw this snake coiled around the base of the feeder.  A humming bird was approaching the feeder at the same time.  The bird slowed down, I shewed it away.  I took my phone out and took this picture.  Look closely you will see the snake coiled along the base, with its head facing out in the direction of the birds.  You can also see another predator of the humming bird toward the top of the feeder, a praying mantis.  Normally I would shoot the snake to bits, but our visiting Canadian geese were in the line of sight....I took the broom handle to the snake and it jumped off into the boxwood hedge below......

Needless to say, I check the feeders carefully before taking them down to refill.  The next morning, sure enough, there was that dog gone snake again!!!  This time I caught it before it had a chance to settle in.  It is still slithering down to the feeder.  I took the picture, then grabbed a putter I had next to the door and gave it a good putt and again into the boxwood hedge it went......

Next morning, no snake....good.  However, the following day, that dog gone snake was back on the feeder!  No picture this time, I took the putter and beat on the snake and feeder.......to this day the snake has not returned to any of the three humming bird feeders.

Of course, we also have to contend with snakes in the bird's coop. I have been startled more than once by the poaching Chicken/Rat snakes in the birds nest....I keep a sharp hoe in the coop for just these occasions.

One evening I was very late getting the veggie garden and flower planters watered....the sun was down, it was that time of day when the light is almost gone and stars are just beginning to show. I was just finishing up by putting out cat food and wild bird seed for our night visiting critters, skunks, possums and rabbits.  I was walking back the same path I went out, keeping a close watch with every step.  I was stopped mid stride with my foot in the air when the thought occurred to me,  that wasn't there before.........it moved, IT WAS A SNAKE, I was about to step on!!! It took off and I ran into the house. Since water is scarce this summer the snakes have been around the house more, especially after I water plants.....

I always wondered what the statement "snake in the grass" meant. I found out. The grass area around the ducks and chicken coop is lush, thick, green grass. Only because we pump the pools of duck poo water onto the lawn. It is a wonderful natural fertilizer for the grass.  One evening before letting the birds run around before bed time, I brought out some chopped up tomatoes for them to find in the grass. Tomatoes are a real treat for them.  I was throwing these chopped tomatoes here and there, la, la, la, la.....Suddenly, there was this big black chicken snake that came up out of the grass!!!!  I had hit it with some chopped tomato and brought it out of the thick, lush grass!!  There I stood only armed with tomatoes in my hand watching this snake slithering an exit away from me. It stopped by the kiddie pool gave me one last look then vanished.  Now I understand the meaning of "snake in the grass."  After that we mowed the grass down to the nub...

We look forward to the cold nights of fall and winter, only because we know the snakes will be in their Winter slumber underground. I hope this will be the last of the snake stories for me to share with you.......

The molting, fussing and fighting continue. Buffy has joined Oma and Phoebe in the molt festival.  The boys watch in their clueless state as the girls continue to battle it out.


Weclome to Camp Molting, where the fighting never ends.

Oma waited, loudly and impatiently wings folded on her hips, foot tapping and yelling, for me to open the door to Phoebe and Buffy's enclosure. The girls came running out. Oma grabbed Phoebe by the tail only to get a beak full of feathers.  Buffy yells at Oma, with Oma responding in kind. Oma takes a running lunge at Phoebe, who lunges at Oma, Sumo wrestling style, the fight is on.  No one interfered with this fight, except Little Dude grabbing Oma's wing feathers trying to pull her off  Phoebe.  Dude is conflicted.  He is faithful to Oma, but believes he is the protector of ALL the girls.  He was thrown out of the way by Oma in the midst of the fight. Oma finally bested Phoebe.

Phoebe still in a molting fighting mood, marched up to the boys enclosure and lunged at Macintosh getting a good beak hold on his chest feathers, he is not molting.  She tries to pull him through the small chain link diamond fencing. Mac not aware she is wanting to kill him, is excitedly thinking she wants him....NOT in the least!  Meanwhile, Buffy is beating up Little Dude.  He is the smallest duck we own.  The others out weigh him and have more height than he does.  Dude does not back down.  I intervene for Dude. So today the yard is filled with flying duck feathers, loud Q U A K I N G and fighting every where you turn.  I will be so happy when molting season is over!!!    Blinkin?  She was happily digging for bugs!

The following video is 'why' Phoebe wants to hurt Mac.

September 16, 2011

The back story.  I grew up a suburbanite.  The closest thing to a farm experience was a field trip in 1st or 2nd grade to Carnation Farms.  I remember the cows, lots of cows, some horses, chickens and other animals.  I stepped in cow manure more than once. The smell and squishiness was a bit much.  It was a fun adventure as a kid, different from my daily life in the city.

My grandparents had a cow or two when I was around 2 or 3 years old. My uncles would take me with them to milk the cows. I loved it when they would squirt milk into my mouth. It was a distance game for them. I stood away from the cow while they took turns squirting milk at my open mouth.  The cat and I loved this game.

I had cousins that had horses. I tried to ride one bare back, landed on my butt more than once in that experience.  I was stepped on, nipped, thrown and generally just decided that horses were not for me.  The last horse ride I took as a young adult was more like Mr. Toad's wild ride, with the owner of the horse chasing us on foot screaming at the top of her lungs for the horse to stop, which he had not intention of doing, but finally we got the horse to stop.  That was my last  horse back ride.

So my experiences with farming and animals has been minor at best. I enjoyed city life. Always things to do, places to go, people to see a beehive of activity.  But about 6 years ago, the city life was taking on a more manic intensity and crowding.  The nice city life with some breathing room became over crowded with noise, hostility and a sense of suffocation.  It was time to move out to the country for a bit of space and calm.

Since my husband's work was in Texas, we decided to move closer to his work, less commuting for a bit more quality of life.   We found this nice little 20 acre farm out in the rural area of North Texas. How quiet and traquil.  SOLD! 

We were novices/ rookies to farm and farm life.  We were as green as you come to rural living.  I drove back and forth to the larger city (20 plus miles away) for supplies two or three times a day for some time until we got the hang of things.  The quiet at night kept me a wake at first....I was more accustom to noise, but that was short lived. 

The abandoned dogs and cats in the area found their way to our front door. We have rescued to date 8 dogs, 12 cats, 6 ducks,  2 chickens and 1 skunk.  Never planned on any animals. The animals have taught me a great deal in how to care for them. My husband calls me the duck psychologist.  I find I try to use my training to figure out what is what with them. Yes, I do have conversations with all of them. 

Winter before last,  I gave Winkin  (now deceased) sister to Blinkin, a rectal exam.  I thought she might be egg bound. I had on Latex gloves, put some KY gel on one finger and held Winkin with one hand and probed her for a bound egg. No egg. Since that exam she clucked running in the opposite direction when I approached. She died last summer.  She would follow me while I mowed eating bugs, snakes and anything that moved.

That is our back story to how we got here.  Here is a picture of Winkin and Blinkin.

Sept. 13, 2011

This morning I was preforming my usual chores of cleaning the duck pools, cleaning drinking water dishes, refreshing straw and providing food for our ducks and chicken.  

However, today as Buffy and Phoebe came running out the door of their enclosure, I noticed Phoebe was dropping feathers right and left, literally.  Ah, Phoebe is now molting.  I did not give it another thought, as I went about my cleaning duties. 

Oma, was still hot to beat on Phoebe, but they kept a rather polite, but not quiet, distance.  Then it happened.....A hawk came gliding over very low and slow. Oma sounded the alarm and everyone ran into Buffy and Phoebe's enclosure, where I was filling their pools with fresh water. I stepped out to see the hawk take its leave.  While my back was turned Oma and Phoebe could not take the strain of politeness any further, the fight was on again.  I broke it up. Blinkin was out in the yard bugging. She was oblivious to the fighting, (she must be deaf).  Oma stormed out of the girl's enclosure in a huff, QUAKE, QUAKE, Q U A K E!!!! She went to her enclosure complaining loudly the whole way.  Then Phoebe turned on Little Dude, who was still in their enclosure. The fight got ugly and I broke it up.  Blinkin, singing La la la la and eating bugs.  I chase everyone out of the girl's enclosure to finish up, thinking they are done. OH NO!  Phoebe takes a run at Dude and BAM the fight is on. I again break this up....Blinkin prancing through the yard catching bugs.  Dude heads to his enclosure and Phoebe is hot on his tail. I came around from the opposite side to find Phoebe in Blinkin's enclosure pounding or trying to pound on Oma through the fence!  I break it up by picking Phoebe up and moving her. She comes right back and they go at it again.  Where or where is Blinkin!? (Blinkin singing: la, la, la, la, I love fresh bugs).  Finally I pick up Phoebe and carry her to her enclosure.  The noise of the girls yelling and fighting was deafening!  Phoebe marches over to the fence between herself and the boys and begins yelling, at the top of her voice, at the boys and if she could have reached them through the fence, (as they were trying) she would have torn their beaks off!!  She tried it a couple of times.  We have chain link fencing but put up 1" chicken wire on the chain link between the enclosures to keep them from thrusting their heads through the fence to grab each other. If the boys only knew that that fencing saved their beaks today.  No, I could not catch any of this on video.

If you are familiar with West Side Story, the fighting gangs from the east side and west side.  I have something similar going on here. Oma is on the east side and Phoebe is on the west side of the coop.  It is Rouen fowl against common fowl.  Still reminds me of girls fighting, now very physical, over boys, but I think it has escalated to who will be queen and rule the coop.  So two molting volatile female ducks saying to each other, "you want a piece of me, come and get it."  When they are not in the yard they stand in the corner of their enclosure facing each other, yelling at the top of their lungs at each other.   Until this fighting and molting is done, we can say good bye to the quiet, peace of the farm...

Here is a picture of Oma and Little Dude. She is a Rouen breed.  He is a Mallard.

The picture below is Phoebe.  I call her Miss Phoebe Snow.  She is the girl the boys are hot for.   She is probably of Mallard breeding.   The picture below Phoebe is Buffy. She is a crested (the white up do on her head is a crest) barn yard runner breed.  I call her Miss Buffy Buffay (boo-fay).  She is considered by our boys to be a high maintenance, high dollar female.  They do not spend a great deal of energy chasing her.

Now the two boys that seem to be the underlying cause of this molting duo, Macintosh and Jonathan.  They are an Appleyard breed.  I call them the apple dumpling gang. 

 Now you know all the players in this not so musical drama of west verses east.  

Farming life

I've been asked by friends and family to blog my experiences on our small farm.  There were two incidences that happened one day that convinced me to begin this blog.  I will not bore you, I hope with trivial information, but hope to share what it is like to run a small farm.

I will be posting two short video clips to begin this blog journey. The first video clip is of an armadillo that I run into from time to time in our back yard.  I took this video with my Android X phone. I also got as close as possible without him running away.

Our 20 acre farm is in North Texas.  As you may or may not know, we are experiencing a severe drought.  The animals and all plant life are in a state of distress, along with death in this drought.  We have a small kiddie pool in our back yard for our ducks to swim and bathe in.  The armadillo comes out before sunset to drink from this pool.  The first time I was able to get a photo of him and then this video:  

Now on this evening,  2 of our 6 ducks went crazy, in a sense.  Our oldest duck Oma is molting. Molting is very painful process of the new quills push the old quills out.  The female ducks get rather cranky. In human terms, they are like women during PMS or women heading through menopause, without medication.  Needless to say Oma is in a mood. My husband says, "she is in a really 'fowl' mood."  She attacks one of our younger female ducks named Phoebe.  I could not understand this aggression. When Oma molts, (usually twice a year) she is quiet and broody, but not this time.  In observing them, I figured it out. Oma is the queen of our 3 drakes (male ducks). She has a faithful drake named Little Dude that does his best to protect her. Well, our other 2 drakes ( male ducks) are now giving all their attention to Phoebe, to the point they beat each other up trying  and get to her. They are no longer showing this kind of interest in Oma, (the queen).  Now neither of these females want to mate with these males. But the attention taken from one female and given to another has caused this aggression on Oma's part.  Basically, the girls are fighting about boys! Reminds me of junior high and high school girls.  I caught this fighting on video but with an interesting twist. Our chicken Blinkin decided to mediate the fight.  Here is a video of Oma and Phoebe fighting and Blinkin mediating the fight.   

I hope you enjoyed this introduction of sorts. I hope to bring you more stories from and about farming.