Inside cleaning, the heat, chicks

Since the ambient temperature was 104°F on Saturday, Mama and I decided it was time to do some inside cleaning. I have been bothered by the mess in our chef’s pantry for a long time so, we started there. I got into all the cabinets and drawers, pulling out every item to see whether or not we would throw it away, give it away, pack it away or keep it available for use. In so doing we managed to get rid of a lot of clutter. Most of the items we divested ourselves from were given away. Some were thrown away. We put back in the cabinets, drawers, countertop and shelves less than half of what we started out with. The room looks positively useful right now. It does not look like a storage unit anymore. The entire project took Mama and me about three hours to complete. I filled up the back of the Sequoia with the items we were giving away – most of which went to church folks.

Meanwhile, the animals are enduring the heat. The goats do not seem the least bit bothered by the heat. I know it affects them, but they do not show any outward signs of it. Not like the chickens, which spend the day in the shade panting heavily. Sam and Sasha spend most of the day in the garage. On the weekends, when I have the doors on the shop opened, Sam will rest in there. The concrete keeps them cooler than anywhere they would normally sleep during the day. Both of them are using the passage I created for them between the shop and the repositioned fence. There they can quickly access the back of the property. Last night, for instance, they responded to nearby coyotes by racing through the alley I made for them. During the day, nobody moves much which makes the nights all the more active.

Last night, after church, after a stop at Wendy’s, after dropping the girls off at their house, after we got home, I changed and watered the trees and bushes on the east side of the house. Mama will water the garden and those plants in front of the house this morning. Without constant watering, they stand little chance of surviving. Fortunately, we are expecting a cool front to push in in a couple days driving the temperatures into the high 90’s.  I suppose that is better than hanging in the triple digits, but it is barely noticeable when you are out in the heat. The humidity, the real danger to our plants, is hovering at 30-35%. The ground will not hold much water when the air is that dry so we must water often and soak the ground as much as possible when we do water. So far, we seem to be doing a fair job. As long as I keep the soil loose at the base of the trees and bushes, the water can penetrate deep enough to do some good.

The chicks are growing very quickly. The totes that Mama is using to house them are quickly becoming too small to contain them. Even though I put pieces of wire fencing across the tops of the totes, some of the chicks still manage to get out. Fortunately, they do not go very far, And, fortunately, they are relatively easy to catch. However, we will have to move them into the cage in the coop this week. That puts the urgency on me to reinforce the doors on that cage to keep snakes out. And speaking of snakes, the moth balls Mama put out last week seem to be working to keep the snakes away. We have not seen any snakes in the coop for several days and nights. Of course, that could change today, but as of last night we have not seen our normal visitors for at least four days. The smell of the naphthalene is not too strong, but it is noticeable. Enough that the snakes are discouraged from visiting. I read that it will keep rats, mice and flies away from the area as well. That is a plus if we can figure out how much is enough in order not to overdo our use of the chemical. It will only be a matter of two weeks or so that the chicks will be too large for the snakes to be a threat to them. At that time, we may look at getting the moth balls out of the coop. But for now, they will stay.

It is better foe Mama that the coop smells like my Grandma and Grandpa’s closet than to constantly deal with the snakes.