Pheasant Hunting

The guys went pheasant hunting yesterday and got 4. Well, the guys got three, the dog got one. Good dog! We brought three of them home to eat and one was made into sausage. How weird is that? We decided against having pheasant for Thanksgiving dinner, but will probably cook it up tomorrow night. Happy Thanksgiving!

Yeeee Hawwww!

We went out to Brawley this past weekend to camp, hunt and go to the rodeo. Our friends invited us to join them on this annual event. It was really fun. I wasn't sure what to think about attending a rodeo and it was great. I especially liked the Mutton Bustin' event. Kids 10 and under strap on helmets, jump on the back of a lamb or sheep or mutton, or whatever, try to grab and handful of wool and hang on! It was so cute. (just to clarify - I thought mutton was the meat of a sheep, but what do I know?) I assure you, these guys were alive! I guess Lamb Bustin' just doesn't sound as good.
The dove hunting was great (I heard). We also attended the Brawley Parade and had a yummy BBQ lunch provided by the Elk's club. The kids had a chance to explore the farm, climb hay bales, shoot the pellet gun, swing on the rope swing and just hang out. It was a great weekend and quite an experience. For sure worth the trip to Brawley. Forgot my camera - so no pictures. Bummer.

Lassoing a Chicken

Our poor chickens. No wonder they don't seem to be producing as much as I think they should. Travis came in yesterday laughing so hard, I thought he was crying. He went out to do chicken chores and Tulip, our sweet little Buff Orpington hen was sitting in the favorite place to lay eggs. When he came in to collect the eggs, she refused to move and decided to peck at him - I don't think she was finished doing her business. Anyway, he thought it would be fun to see if he could lasso her around the neck and drag her from the nest -- gently, I'm sure! Well, he did it - he lassoed her and she freaked out and started running around the hen house - squawking and going crazy. This brought in several on-lookers to see what was going on. If Travis thought it was tough to lasso a chicken, he realized the tough part was unlassoing one! (is that really a word?) After much effort and flying feathers, he grabbed her by the legs, flipped her over so she would calm down and undid the lasso and tossed her - again gently, I'm sure, out the hen house door into the yard. She partially slid, partially tumbled, mostly on her back down the ramp into the fray of the chicken yard. At this point - all of the chickens were sure that they were next and completely lost it! Travis left smiling and happy that his work there was done! Boys!

Not too exciting around here! Thank goodness!

Not much going on around here. Yesterday we just stayed home and worked on school and I worked on paperwork. Not too exciting. We finally finished planting the winter garden. We still have a few pumpkins growing, but they don't seem to be turning orange -- maybe it's just too chilly at night for them. I'm excited to see how the lavender and sweet peas do - I never remember to plant the sweet peas at the right time, so this will be great. Many little shoots coming up - we just need to keep the peacocks out. I think they think it's an all you can eat buffet, just for them. The lettuce, spinach and Swiss chard seem to be doing the best. We're baking bread today and trying to finish up another batch of apple jam. We've made about 15 jars. Still more apples though! Better ring the school bell - it's 8:00 a.m.
~c~

The Hazards of Country Living

Got up this morning as the sun was coming up. Staggered outside, barefoot - with coffee in hand - leaving for the beach and promptly stepped on something that seemed a bit off. After regaining my balance and desperately trying to not spill my much needed coffee - I realized it was a big bird claw! Just the claw. No, not a leftover Halloween decoration. I guess it was the dead fellow from yesterday's shooting. I found the rest of him, or his feathers in the backyard when I went back to do chicken chores. Note to self --- always wear shoes, especially when you can't see where you are walking!

Life on the Homestead

What's going on around here? Our 14 chickens are still laying eggs but not as much as we'd like. We haven't taken the time to "cull" and harvest/slaughter the lazy layers. It could be too many roosters in the coop are stressing the girls out. Now that the days are shorter and it's getting colder, we anticipate less eggs - we're getting about 6 a day. We planted our "winter" garden awhile back. We planted peas, beans, squash, peppers, broccoli, chard, lettuce, spinach and onions. We still need to plant the sweet peas and lavender. Today a peacock died from "lead poisoning". He was way too interested in the tender shoots coming up in the garden, so the big hunter had to take care of him. It's funny, once you shoot a few of the peacocks, all the others seem to stay away, for awhile at least. I guess they aren't as dumb as we think. Sorry to offend any peacock lovers! We have a few pumpkins that are still a bit green - so we're letting them continue. We carved a couple pumpkins, now we need to find some good pumpkin recipes --- pie is always a good option! Today is our big class day - we have art, science, history, etc. Always a fun day! Better get down to business - the books are calling!
~c&j~

A Boy and His Dog

Travis and Chloe enjoying recess or was it a nap? I sent Travis out to run around and play with the dogs - next thing I see, he is sacked out on the grass and Chloe is pawing at him trying to get him to play with her! So much for running around!