ELeVan ~ Honaker Farm Journal

[elevan]

B is home and working on his afternoon assignments that I have for him. Really a good thing that I have workbooks for him as once again his teacher only sent one assignment for an entire afternoon. He is flying through his work. I have had to give him more and more every day. He's definitely bored in the afternoons at school and acting out because of it. I have an entire filing cabinet drawer full of workbooks for him and have a feeling that he's going to run through all of them very quickly. When he does then I'm taking all of them to the school and having a talk with the principal. It really frustrates me having him home in the afternoon because I have to supervise his work and therefore don't have the ability to go out and get things done that I normally would if her were in school.

The guineas have made a nest in an old doghouse that is in the middle of the field. It used to have 3 large depressions inside of it where various poultry would go in and nest. Now the guineas have been taking turns going in there and it's flat ground...I mean flat. They are burying eggs. It's not a good spot to nest...it's really not given the predators that we have. I guess I'll wait until they are ready to set and then take all the eggs and incubate them myself.

I don't think I can candle the eggs in the bator...they are too dark.

Cinni is still setting on her eggs...13 days to hatch.

Gonna run my list here on what I need / want to accomplish this Spring:

1. Convert old chicken coop into a turkey coop and get some poults
2. Build duck coop (short deadline for this one...by the end of April)
3. Build a goose coop and get some goslings
4. Prepare garden(s)
5. Expand fencing
6. Gutter garden on backside of turkey coop
7. Spring cleanout of barns / coops
8. Running water to my barns / coops
9.

Doesn't seem like a long list (yet) but those are some pretty big chores.

 

[redtailgal]

I am so proud of B for working hard on his workbooks! He sounds like a super smart young man that is gonna grow into a super smart big man.

lol, I still cant wrap my head around wanting Geese, but hey, whatever floats your boat!

Building anything counts 10fold on the chore list.

 

[elevan]

The geese will be seasonal...buy them in the Spring and into the freezer in the Fall. Unless I really like personalities I won't keep any over as breeders..just get new stock in the Spring.

I'm thinking Emden and / or Toulouse.

Anyone have opinions on geese breeds?

 

[elevan]

I just scored a whole bunch of outdoor water pipe for FREE! So, I'll be adding the running of running water to my barns / coops to my list.

 

[redtailgal]

Cool! Beats the heck outta hauling water!

 

[elevan]

Cool! Beats the heck outta hauling water!

Don't I know it! Right now I have barrels with spigots all over the place. They are all within 150 feet of the house so that I can refill them with the hose and then I fill buckets from those barrels and haul the water to where it's needed. It will be so nice to have a spigot in each of my barns / coops!

 

[redtailgal]

I'm gonna be rude and give advice you didnt ask for.

When you plumb for your running water to the barns/coops, plan it out for winter conditions. Insulate your pipes and bury them deep.

The reason I say this is because when our barn was plumbed (before we moved here) winter was not a consideration. SO now, each fall before the weather gets cold, we have to shut off the water to the barn, because the pipes freeze and burst as soon as the temps take a dip. Meaning that when it is frigid cold outside, raining sleet and ice, I am standing in it, freezing my bum off while I use the yard spigot to fill up the buckets to carry to the barn as I slip and slide. I've spilled cold water on myself as I landed on the snow and ice many times.

We COULD re-plumb the barn, but no, that would make too much sense.

 

[elevan]

Yep, I plan to bury them below the freeze line. Definitely a good thing to point out for those reading along.

I am just so excited. I love it when I can find stuff and it doesn't cost me a penny!

 

[elevan]

I have come to the conclusion that I need to either write a program or find a program to track egg production and orders to make sure that I don't accept orders that I cannot fill. I've got some hefty ones coming up over the next couple of weeks because of Easter and my calendar notations just aren't gonna cut it. Anyone have any ideas.

 

[bonbean01]

I've been thinking about your son B....and you know, what I've read on here reminds me of something both my kids have mentioned in the past...they are both teachers...my daughter is a primary teacher and my son a highschool teacher. They have both been bothered that not all children learn the same, but that the system is built for how the majority learn and those that don't fit that get left behind (well not by my kids since they offer extra classes for those kids)...and the other problem they see are the extremely bright and gifted children who get so bored and frustrated by the slow teaching, that they tune out or act out just because they totally lack stimulation with the program and are ready to forge ahead with learning but have to endure hearing the same old for the rest of the class.

I am guessing that B is a very bright and gifted child and they are boring and frustrating him big time!!! This happened to my son in the second grade and they wanted him to skip a grade and I thought that not a good idea since socially he was not a year ahead. The school came up with an enrichment program...he did his regular work, then off to more indepth and stimulating work in another room and that worked great for him...of course to make that happen I became a volunteer at the school and went to part time work instead of full time.

My kids have said that they suspect that some high school drop outs are dropping out only because they are so frustrated....anybeehoo, just thought I'd share this in hopes it might help with B.

Bonnie***
P.S.....about the wearing pink...pink is a great colour...one of my grand daughters loves green and wonders why everyone thinks she should only wear pink...it's not easy being green (wink)