New babies, first frost, pruning, the mess

Mama and I spent yesterday evening shopping. We went to Costco and Hobby Lobby in Alliance versus going to Denton. We have not been to Costco for some time and Mama had things on her list that we could only get from that store – or online. So, we made the trip, bought the few items on her list plus a couple other good deals (one being a Christmas present for Victoria), paid our membership dues and headed back to Decatur. We did not stay long in either Hobby lobby, where we were looking for something specific for Cori, or in Costco. I did not want to overspend in either store since the longer you stay in the store the greater is the tendency to do so. Plus, we wanted to get to a feed store in Decatur to buy chicks before they closed at 8 pm. As it turned out, we made it back to Decatur in plenty of time.

Mama and I had discussed getting chicks this winter versus getting them in the Spring. We are supposed to have a mild Winter and we have a place to raise the chicks that we can easily keep warm enough to do so. One of the motivations to purchase the chicks now was that we will not have to deal with snakes in the colder weather. In the Spring, keeping the snakes away from the chicks is a real issue for us here at the farm. Over the winter, we will have to secure them in a way that opossums and raccoons cannot get to them, but that is far easier than keeping snakes at bay. Anyway, we bought twenty to raise. Five Americana, five Buff Orpington, five Rhode Island Red and five Barred Rock. Hopefully, the vast majority of them will be hens – that is what they were sold as – but only time will tell. For some reason we always end up with a rooster or two in every batch we purchase as chicks.

For now, we have the chicks in a tote in the garage – which is quite cold as far as the chicks are concerned – with a heat lamp over them to keep them warm. All twenty are together right now because I did not have two heat lamps available last night to allow us to split them up. Besides the will keep warmer together as they huddle in a mass to conserve body heat. We will not be able to keep all twenty in one tote for more than a week. They will grow very quickly. Our plan is to house them in the garage for at least three weeks and then move them to the little coop. It is well insulated, and we will be able to keep it as warm as needed for the growing chicks. By the time they are grown, they will fill that coop building to capacity – or perhaps overcapacity. So, sometime in the next three weeks we will have to get the seven hens that call the little coop home relocated to one of the larger coop areas. That will be quite a shock for them, but I believe they will make the adjustment successfully.

There was frost on the ground and the windshields of the vehicles this morning. When Mama and I went out to feed the temperature was almost forty degrees, but at some point, it had been much colder. I did not necessarily mind missing those frosty hours of the night. With that first frost, our trees and bushes will hurry to shed their leaves and we will be flooded with the fallout of that for the next several weeks. I like to keep the garage and shop swept and reasonable clear of leaves and debris, but at this time of the year it can be a challenge. A very small price to pay for the privilege of living on the farm.

When all the fruit plants and trees have bared themselves, I will begin the process of pruning them. The fig tree has bushed out too much and needs a severe pruning. I expect to get at least five new trees from cutting away the excess of the tree I want to save as the main tree in the mass that is growing now. The blueberries also have been allowed to grow too wild for them to produce. They will be severely pruned this winter as well. Unfortunately, I will not get any extra plants from that pruning. Neither of those plants produced for us this year and I believe it is because they were too bushy to focus on fruiting. I will know for sure next Spring. When I pruned the peach tree last year, Mama was worried I had overdone it, but the fruit it produced this year was exceptional. We harvested about forty peaches, but we also lost quite a few that had ripened and fallen to the ground before we began picking the peaches. The pruning did indeed cause it to produce more fruit – just like the Bible says.

Hopefully, I will be able to get the panels for the pig pen this weekend. I have two poles to set before I can attach the panels but if I can get them in place, we can move the pig into the larger area and keep Mama and I from having to get into the pen with her every time we feed her.

As you can see from the picture, avoiding that mess would be a blessing.