It's been a while, and a lot to tell you

   

So I know I've been AWOL for a few weeks now.  Like I said before, this time of year is the greatest time for content to write, and the worst for having time to write.  I can't lay it all at the feet of my little farmstead.  A little over a month ago my brother in law unexpectedly passed away.  In my opinion, it shouldn't have happened.  That and a buck fifty will get me a coffee at Denny's.  All I will say is I have no trust in our healthcare system.  GET A GOOD PRIMARY, and allow only him to prescribe, order tests, etc.  If you have another specialist, take their recommendations to your primary before agreeing to anything.  I mean a good primary.  I don't mean a nice primary.  A doctor can have a great bedside manner and be a terrible doctor.  QUESTION EVERYTHING!  TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS!  If something feels wrong it probably is.  HAVE AN ADVOCATE!  Preferably someone with a little medical experience, but at least have someone there who knows you and your wishes.  If I'm not careful I'll go on a tangent.  So I'll stop there.  This may be a longer post later.

In addition to that, and being there for my sister; our grandsons came to stay for 5 days.  While they were here we had a heat wave come through.  Oh boy!  So there wasn't the ability to do much more than pick stuff out of the garden then.  When we were in the house there wasn't much time to concentrate on writing.  

Once they left my focus had to turn to getting the run completed for our Jersey Giants  While still small babies, at 5 weeks old they are more in line with a laying chicken at 8 or 9 weeks.  I did finally get it completed 2 days ago.  I have a couple of aesthetic things to do to it, but structurally it's done and they love it.  Pictures to come later.  

I also finally have our new side deck!  We're thrilled!  For the past 29 years we've had this little 4x4 "landing" for lack of a better word, that was half rotted.  Now we have THIS!

So yesterday was my final "have to" outside.  That was to pick all the produce that's accumulated while I was completing the run.  Hubby was off yesterday so he joined me outside and we picked for 2 hours!  I shutter to think how long it would have taken with just me!  Then yesterday afternoon was spent processing what we picked.  I put up 7 pints of blackberry syrup, 2 quarts butternut squash, and 4 quarts of tomato sauce.  My counters are full of tomatoes still to process, but they aren't quite ready, and I have cucumbers I need to do something with.  The rest of the summer will be light maintenance, and picking.  No other big projects are on the list until we process all but one of the roosters from our meat birds in August.  

We have a broody hen in our layer coop, currently sitting on 8 eggs.  We don't want to break her brood, so we've marked the eggs to keep them separated from the other hens eggs, and the plan is to sell the chicks once they're 5 weeks old.  That's if she makes it to hatch them.  Sometimes hens change their mind.  The instinct to brood is bred out of chicks you buy at the store.  My thought is it isn't so much "bred out" as it is they aren't taught.  Store bought chicks experience no mothering in their early life.  At birth they don't imprint on anyone or anything.  As a result they don't fully understand the concept of brooding and being a mother.  It takes them a few trial and error times through before they get it down.  Sometimes they never do.  With the exception of these meat birds, we stopped buying from hatcheries and instead allow a hen to brood if she wants to.  Those chicks will be mothered for 5 weeks, and will learn how to be a mother as well.  The baby roosters will learn from the father rooster what he needs to know.  We have a great daddy rooster that cares for his chicks very well.  He does so because his daddy rooster did the same for him.  Our plan is to exchange meat bird eggs for any egg layer eggs a broody hen wants to sit on.  While our meat bird hens are figuring it out, we will still be able to continue our flock of meat birds through our egg layer mamas.

I think I've covered the big happenings around here.  I have some posts in mind for the future.  Just have to get some pictures to help cover them.  I plan on doing better in the future writing on my blog now that I have my head above water.  Thank you for your patience.