In anticipation of the insects returning, we decided to get our purple Martin house up on the pole and ready for their arrival. We got it out late last year and didn’t have any nesting pairs.
Yesterday afternoon my neighbor called and asked if I’d like some liquid gold for our garden. He had taken two loads of cattle to the city and had a trailer full of manure. He backed up to the garden and we pushed from the front towards the back with our shovels. He got help cleaning out the trailer and I got some wonderful manure for the garden. We were both tickled!
It is hard to tell how much is there in this picture, but I’d estimate it to be covering a 4 by 6 piece of the garden and is several inches thick. It will sit there until spring before being broken up, spread around the garden and then tilled into the soil.
We had another coon in our dog proof raccoon trap behind the chicken shed this morning. She was a smaller female, but the small ones will eat a chicken just like the big ones. The girls and I got her skinned out while she was still warm. They skin so much easier that way.
We bait these dog proof traps with marshmallows and a little coon bait that has a shellfish smell to it. So long as you can keep the mice away from the bait it works well on the coon and doesn’t attract many of the other critters.
It’s getting cold outside and in our preparation for the winter we put out sunflower seeds for the cardinals and other song birds today. When there is snow on the ground we can see dozens of birds visiting this feeder each day from our kitchen table. It’s wonderful to sit and enjoy a hot cup of coffee while watching the traffic at this feeder.
Just a couple random images of our pets. Yes that’s my water the dog is drinking. No, I didn’t have any more.
Today I picked up the first part for a motorized chicken plucker. A local gentleman had an electric motor available on Craigslist. After ensuring it ran I paid his asking price and brought it home. Everything else except the lumber, fasteners, belt and wiring components will be here tomorrow.
The other day all of our birds were out free ranging in the trees by the house and enjoying bug hunting in the leaf debris. The windows in the house were open so I was able to hear all the birds were alarmed about something. I peeked out the window and spied this female coyote at a distance staring at all the birds as they fled towards the house.
Quickly I grabbed a nearby rifle, a Remington 700 chambered in 17 Remington, pushed open the back door and aimed the rifle while standing inside the house. She knew she had been busted and I could see she had turned to leave and was disappearing into the trees. When I barked like a dog she turned 180 degrees to face me. One quick shot where her neck and chest meet and she dropped in her tracks. She will not be having any more chicken dinners!
