Oops! I didn't manage to get this posted on the right date! Enjoy anyway - More to come!
I have one chicken that refuses to sleep in the coop at night. Seems like there's always at least one. I named this golden girl Penelope. She sleeps in a shed. I'm hoping she can stay safe in there -- I don't have any way to predator-proof that particular spot.
This morning she was out in the yard when I went to open the coop gates to let the others free range. Then I found out why she doesn't like staying in there. She was the target of good ol' fashion poultry bullying! The roosters double teamed her. She got chased repeatedly around the yard. I tried to help her -- I threw a bucket at the other birds hoping to scare them off. If I could have caught her I'd put her somewhere safe. But it's damned hard to catch a chicken -- especially one that's already stressed.
I'm not sure where to put her, but I'll see if I can find somewhere else for her to live. Poor thing. I don't understand chicken psychology. I have no idea why this particular bird is a target. The last time I tried to rescue one of my farm residents, a duck, I found out she was being attacked because SHE was the asshole.
People who don't live with farm animals seems to think farm animals are all touchy-feely and friendly. That they all live peacefully in their pens ... They don't. The animal kingdom is full of jerks and not all of them are human. I've rarely like sheep andI have little patience for sows. I have a love/hate relationship with horses. I tend to like most cows, which is handy, since I live with so many of them. But anyway, I'll wander down to the barn later today and figure out what to do with Penelope the chicken. I normally am not a big fan of naming the livestock (you name pets, not livestock) but in her case, I'll make an exception. I'm drawn to her, I guess.
Anyway, the main part of harvest, corn chopping, starts Monday. Harvest is my New Year. It's what we all work for all year. I've loved watching the corn grow so high you can see my house from the road. But the air already has as autumn chill and it's time to stock pile this corn in the commodity yard and prepare for winter. My husband will be working 10 -12 hour days, so I'll prepare meals he can eat with one hand or during breaks between trucks. That's sort of a challenge and I'm always up for trying something new. Some years, I get all sorts of creative. Some years, he eats a lot of sandwiches.
Today is Wednesday, which is one of my favorite days because on Wednesday nights, I head over to my neighbor's place for what I call Craft Beer night -- (drink beer, do crafts). Be sure to check out her website; sallisbackporchfabrics.com This is Queen Stitch and Snip and this place is one of my most favorite places to hang out! Her fabric is awesome and she, like all the queens in my queendom, is awesome. On the second and fourth Wednesdays we go "unplugged" and just work on projects that don't necessarily require electricity. We party like it's 1899! On the other Wednesdays, we work on anything. We always potluck and the conversation is alway a blast. Sometimes we even complete a project or two.
Tonight, I'm taking two potluck items. One is an old family recipe called "Poor Man's Cookies". They're perfect for a late summer/early fall cool evening. The other is a hummus I made to test out some recipes for the local food bank. (More on that in my next post)
So that's what's happening around my queendom. What's going on in yours?
What I'm listening to: Moonlight by Joe Purdy and Amber Rubarth and Ring the Bells by JohnnySwim
What I'm reading: 1) Making another pass through Educated by Tara Westover so I'm up speed for our bookclub discussion.
2)We Sagebrush Folks, by Annie Pike Greenwood. I borrowed this copy from my step-mother and she reminded me this morning I was supposed to read and it and pass it on to my sister. So I better wrap it up!
What I'm doing when I'm not talking to you today: household stuff! Lots of cooking today, laundry, and hopefully putting together a canner load of pickled beets....