Turkey Dinner

Farmers have livestock because most humans are omnivores.  We like dairy, we like eggs, we like meat.  Livestock are not pets.  That does not mean that we do not become fond of them

Last week I had a picture of Penelope and her poults.  This week the pictures tell a very different story.

We heard the coyotes not long after we went to bed last Sunday evening.  Did they have her already then?  Hard to say.

I had the day off work on Monday and California cousins Russ and Margaret came for lunch and a visit.  They ended up helping me find the survivors who were mostly in the very long tangled grass south of the winter coop. They were not easy to find or catch.

We recovered a total of six but some of them died in the following days.  Right now there are just two little orphan poults left.

On to a less sad subject.  The field that was brown just a few days ago is now green.  The winter wheat is up and looks great!

And a couple of random items - I am fascinated by the varied colors and shapes of wild mushrooms.  This picture is from Long Lake Conservation Center.  I was there Wednesday after work for a 5K put on by our health promotion team.  It's a beautiful place and I had to pause along the way to take this picture.

Supper tonight was chicken and spaghetti squash with alfredo sauce.  I just want to show you this huge spaghetti squash - not the usual type in appearance. My co-worker shared it with me - thank you Lois!  I think it is a variety called Sugaretti - that's the only thing I could find with a google search that looked anything like it.  It was very sweet and we enjoyed it.

I am finally getting tomatoes - good thing we haven't had a frost yet!  My own squash and pumpkins are looking pretty good - they like the straw bales I guess.  I will try to get some pictures of them for next time. 

I will be back next week - hopefully with a happier post.  Until then, be well friends.

Another Harvest and a Poultry Update

Today got off to a rocky start...  This year's stone crop was pretty slim.

Ha!  OK, I deserve those eye-rolls, but I just couldn't pass up the pun.  We don't have many stones in our fields, thank goodness.  Just a few in the far southwest of the property.  Every year there are a few to pick up. 

I am sure you want to know about Penelope and the poults - right?  We had such a cold and wet week, I was very worried about these little ones.  I got a good head count this morning and there are 11 of them.  So she has lost 2 or 3 but considering the weather, I think that is pretty good.  If these were hatched in the incubator I would have them in the coop with the heater on up to 80 degrees.  With their mama they've been running around in 58 degree rain, then she warms them up.

We have a new rooster.  We've been without one for a while, other than the cockerels who hatched last spring.  Those lads (there are 8 of them) have a date with the butcher next week.  On Monday I picked up a fine Buckeye rooster from farmer friend Joe.  On Tuesday morning I opened up the coop to find him dead on the floor.  Uh Joe??  Wednesday I picked up his replacement on my way home from work.  So far, so good - meet Rafael!

The hens and Rafael are penned up in the coop yard right for the time being.  I wanted to see if we would get more eggs but we aren't. 

There is more going on around here but I didn't get a lot of photos this week.  That is it for this evening then - thanks for stopping by the blog.  Until next time, be well friends!

Turkey Surprise!

The visual signs of fall are everywhere, but the most apparent thing and hardest to ignore is the cool weather we are having here.  We sure had a chilly weekend and although we haven't built a fire yet, I am pretty sure Kevin is thinking about it.  All I can say is thank goodness for our heated mattress pad!

I was busy  making soap on Monday and looked out the window to observe this... I call it The Meeting Of The Minds...  The picnic table isn't usually in the driveway but it was there temporarily while the lawn was being mowed.  I thought it was cute.

A lot of field work has gone on since the grain harvest.  The latest view from the milking stand shows that the field that was hay has been plowed, disced, and is now planted to winter wheat.

Our woods are still mostly green because of the type of trees we have.

The wild asters are in full flower:

and in the garden the roses are still blooming strong and are very fragrant.

Now- the reason for the title of the post.  Penelope the turkey hen had been missing for about a month.  I knew that it was possible that she was sitting on eggs, but since we saw no sign of her coming to the coop to eat, I also thought she might have died or been killed.

Turns out she was sitting on eggs.  Third time is a charm for her - she appeared in the yard on Friday with quite a bunch of tiny poults - it's hard to count them as she is always bustling them away when she sees us but estimates are 12 to 14.

Sigh... nice timing Penelope. 
 
That's it for this post; until next time, be well friends.

September 1

Here we are, September already!

Since my last post the grain harvest has been wrapped up - the spring wheat is in the trailer waiting to be fanned and we have a little more hay in the barn.

The days are noticeably shorter - the morning view from the milking stand looks kind of like this:

 So here is a view from Saturday afternoon - a beautiful day!  You can see Rollie on his way in from raking the hay.

In the garden I am still waiting on ripe tomatoes.  It's been cool so they are not progressing very fast.  The pumpkins and squash that are planted in the strawbales look great though- you can see them peaking out here and there.

Speaking of peaking, can you spot Scruffy, the feral cat in the long grass?

The turkeys, while not big enough to send to the butcher yet, are getting big and the little toms are acting a lot like their dad.

I harvest a big bowl of rose hips today- this evening they are cooked up and draining.  I decided to make them into syrup.  I'll let you know how that turns out. 

And that is all I have for this evening.  Thanks for stopping by the blog, and until next time, be well friends!