SA Farm's journal

[thistlebloom]

Look at Gary doing chores! Great start as a farm kid.

 

[Bruce]

They finally got it right and can sort me out! Assuming it is kidney stones, if anyone is curious to know - for me, those two episodes at least, definitely worse than labour.

As I was reading your description I was thinking "she's got kidney stones", very familiar. Some years ago I was in so much pain at work I was lying on my office floor. Managed to get up and go to another office where a friend got the manager to call the local EMT's, ambulance ride to the ER. My thought at the time was "It must be a kidney stone, too deep in my back for a pulled muscle". One doesn't often pull a back muscle sitting in their chair at a computer anyway.

A work friend some years later said she'd rather have more kids without drugs than have another kidney stone.

self blue (aka lavender - really wish they’d use consistent terms )

"They" being the key term. I believe the APA has decided "self blue" is THE proper name. I think some that developed the color wanted it to be "lavender" and lost that fight. But they still use lavender.

 

[SA Farm]

@Bruce Brutal, right? I guess I was being too brave and that first doc was used to weaklings because he clearly was not aware that I am a tough-as-nails farm girl who can handle a large chunk of pain without complaining
If I’m bad enough to go to a doc - it’s seriously bad! Not a simple strained muscle (Which I’ve had before and, guess what? Didn’t go to the doc lol)

Regarding the self blue/lavender thing, I’m probably just going to use it interchangeably. Or use self blue for my cochins and lavender for my ameraucanas

 

[Bruce]

You know that 1-10 emoji pain scale they use at the doctors? They needed an 11 for my kidney stone and shingles "episodes"

 

[SA Farm]

It’s mild out for January. 3° out there today. Mild enough to get some work done outside. Got the fence fixed around the coop that was ransacked. I also intend to get the fence lined with burlap so it’s not as obvious and visually appealing to a roving dog. Hopefully my new roo is a smarty pants like my last Ameraucana roo was and will herd his ladies inside the coop when feeling threatened. Most of the time the dogs aren’t hungry, they just like the thrill of the chase. Out of sight out of mind.

I’m hoping to get the pen finished and the little quintet set up within the week. I got a liner on the floor to try out that I’m hoping will make cleaning easier, and just have to do the burlap and staple a feed bag over the summer ventilation holes to keep the wind out. There’s still plenty of ventilation, don’t worry.

Once that’s all done, I’m going to clean out the pen the extra hens are in and put in a divider so I can have both my trios of Cochins in there. They really don’t like living with the turkeys and I don’t blame them. Cochins don’t really fly so the turkeys kind of freak them out when they fly up and down from their roost

 

[Senile_Texas_Aggie]

3° out there today.

I assume that is 3° C (~= 37° F). 3° C is pretty cool but not too bad if the wind isn't blowing. 3° F (~= -16° C) is COLD!

 

[SA Farm]

I assume that is 3° C (~= 37° F). 3° C is pretty cool but not too bad if the wind isn't blowing. 3° F (~= -16° C) is COLD!

Celsius, so cold, but not winter-coat, scarf, gloves and a good hat kind of cold - for me, anyway. I often don’t bother with much more than a jacket and hoodie until February lol. (Even then, I sometimes don’t bother. I’m very cold tolerant.)
Alberta was different. We don’t usually get below -20 here and it’s not for long. In Alberta -30 was practically constant and normal. That was a bit too much cold for me. I was glad not to be farming there when the temps were that low!

 

[SA Farm]

Supposed to have one more week of some positive temps, yay! I’m planning to finish up the chicken coop and move my new roo and his ladies in there by Wednesday. I put up some of the burlap yesterday and should be able to get the rest of it done fairly easily. DH wouldn’t let me do any today because my back was bothering me. He’s right, of course. I need to get better at pacing myself.

So, after vehemently denying that I was going to work with fleece, I was curious (and bored thanks to the lockdown) enough about it that I started watching YouTube videos about how to get a fleece from the sheep to yarn. Since the book I got when I got the sheepies only managed to confuse and frustrate me (possibly why I had no intention of learning more ), I hoped the videos would be better.
Turns out it isn’t nearly as complicated and difficult (appearing) as I had thought. With using dog brushes instead of the more expensive carders and a drop spindle instead of a wheel, it may be simple and inexpensive enough to give it a shot - and not take up too much room while I’m trying it out. Also won’t make me feel bad if I hate it and quit
I didn’t keep Foxy’s fleece since it was mostly just a bunch of matted grossness, but I kept Woolfie’s. Might play around with it when I’m bored and need an indoor project.

I think I need to stop vehemently denying things. I vehemently denied that I’d ever have sheep too
Foxy and Woolfie sure changed my mind

 

[SA Farm]

Today was a fairly productive day. I finished skirting Woolfie’s fleece yesterday, so I washed it today. I’ll give it a few days to dry before I can attempt to dry pick it, then card it. I was super picky about the pieces I kept, so it’s a relatively small sampling - perfect to start with, I think/hope.
Man, I’m going to be carding for weeks That’s okay. It’ll take that long for the drop spindle I ordered to get here Hopefully I’ll have a few rolags ready to go by then.

Got the coop sorted, so I’ll be moving the chickens tomorrow. Also went over plans with DH for fencing off a larger section out back that will completely enclose a really nice big area for my birds and maybe even the sheep. It’ll have to wait until the ground thaws to put in some posts, but I’m happy with what we have in mind.
Freshly burlapped (Is that a word ) and ready to go. The dark brown at the back is like a soft plastic or vinyl and is what’s lining the floor of the coop now. Hoping that’ll make it easier to clean. It added a lip at the door, so it should at least help keep the bedding inside the coop so I can spot clean.

 

[SA Farm]

Sore today. Got a lot done yesterday though. I got the barn cleaned up and sold a pair of Cochins. Just have my Am/EE/OE group and a quad of blue/black Cochins left. Will hopefully get a good number of eggs and chicks from them this spring.
Am group all settled in.

I love the little white spots on the black hen courtesy of her SS father. The blue hen has a few in her crest too. They’re full sisters, but don’t look much alike.
Did some more work on my wool. It’s actually quite relaxing to pick through the locks. Similar to skirting. Just simple work, really. I carded a few rolags with a couple of dog brushes I picked up today. Just to make sure it would work and that I didn’t absolutely hate it. A bit more work, but still doable. The dog brushes are a little smaller than I’d like, but I managed to make two of them before I decided I’d had enough for today. I don’t want to get sick of it before my drop spindle arrives