Fall is Truly Here

Oh my goodness, your blogger is so glad fall is truly here. 

The verges grow more brown and yellow by the day. 

The light is changing almost daily. 

My compost heap is blooming!  The milo on the right hand side of the picture is beginning to mature and turn yellow and bronze. 

That space in the middle is the chicken dust bath, and all those flowers were volunteers from dumped pots. 

The poison ivy growing up the trees is turning bright red! 

Since my last post, the buff Orpington I put in with Doug decided to vote with her wings, and flew out.  Doug was all alone, and had actually stopped crowing.  Last week, I went to Leavenworth and met a wonderful young woman who is breeding in her backyard.  I bought a mixed pullet from her, and a young Silkie pullet, like Doug.  

He is crowing again!  

Ummmm we are having a problem with this guy, Rocky. 

Rocky was a this-year's baby, and was weaned a month or so ago. 

He has been eating cat food and chicken feed here.  

He eats with the chickens and cats all around him on the deck of the big hen house, where he is here... but we know that will not go on long.  He is maturing. 

He comes on the porch, where he pays no attention when my son is out there, just eats the cat food. 

Last week, I heard screaming from the big hen house in the evening.  I went out there, and Rocky had made himself at home in a nest box.  I shoo-ed him out the door. 

Fifteen minutes later, I heard screaming again, and he had gone in the little henhouse next door to try to lay down in a nest box there. 

I removed him. 

This is him the other morning, he was waiting in the huge maple for me to come out and feed the cats and put all the bird seed out. 

I have the big trap out, and am afraid I am going to have to catch and remove him... he will have to go out to the Leavenworth County Fishing Lake.  The thing is, I know that catching him and removing him to a strange place will likely kill him.... but... I may not have an alternative, because it won't be long until he wants chicken dinner for himself.  

I am in a quandary, because you know I cannot kill a living being. 

Two weeks ago, I had the tree eaters here to trim the huge maple by my house.  They told me they estimated it had probably four or so years to go, because the center is rotting. 

This is the limb I initially called about, because I felt it was on its way down. 

THEY LEFT IT. 

The guy told me it would "heal itself". 

This was the partial eclipse of the moon as seen from here last week. 

At 1:30 in the morning two mornings ago, I got up to let one of the cats out 

the back door. 

This is what I saw: 

That's all I've got for today! 

Those of you in the hurricane's path, please take care of yourselves as best you can. 

 

Hello March!

February rushed on out of here with a blast of warmer air, after bringing us freeze and thaw all month long. 

Today it is 65 degrees! 

The beautiful moon has been shining down on us the last few nights, I was not able to capture Venus to it's upper right. 

Here's Niblet, who turns one year old this month. 

Her mama, Fluffy. 

(Almost shearing time) 

Mr. Up Close and Personal, Cookie... the gentle wether. 

His mama, Flicka, the putative leader of the flock. 

I am typing this in my office, and watching them out of the window right now... they are grazing just outside, by the propane tank.  The grass is greening up here, and I rotate them from yard to pasture and back. 

I am not going to plant the garden beds in the raised garden this year, so if I can keep 

them out of the flower garden, they can go back and forth all summer. 

That will be an undertaking. 

I figured right on my winter hay supply, I have about fifteen bales left (maybe a little more) and they are grazing more than eating hay right now. 

I so enjoy watching everyone. 

And here, without doubt, is the Harbinger of Spring for Calamity Acres....

the Red-winged Blackbirds are back!

They are the truest sign here!

The south end of Buddy, going across the yard this morning. 

Buddy comes in the yard now every day, so that Singleton, his older brother and he don't fight. 

Singleton and their dad, Ferdie, get along okay as long as they don't get too close to each other. 

In another six weeks, Singleton and his girls will go to the Ag Hall for the summer, and Buddy and his dad can co-exist on the same side of the fence, the non-house side. 

Little Red, the hen, comes in and out of the yard all day to keep him company. 

Little Red on the flock side. 

Fritzi was exploring yesterday in the good weather.  Yes, she is still woefully overweight, and we are still struggling.  If anyone has advice for me, I'll be glad to listen to it.  We are really 

having a hard time. 

The Weekend

It occurred to me that the new moon last week looked 

like the Star of Bethlehem.  

I pray we have peace in this coming holiday season, after the terrible events of 

October and last Sunday in Texas. 

To my classmates of  Bishop Ward '68.... I skipped the reunion to 

see the Fifty Summers of Love tour last Friday... yes, I'm still fangirling. 

(Is that a word?) 

And... I see that my friend took my picture with my sweater "hanger" hanging out on my collar.  :-( 

That's Doug Couture of The Fab Four portraying George Harrison.  

TFF did a set before the "main" show, which featured Mickey Dolenz of the Monkees, and 

Mark Lindsey of Paul Revere and the Raiders.  The Fab Four changed into Raider's coats and 

played backup. 

I was in the front row, but the stage was the highest one I had ever seen in my life... I had to look straight up almost all evening. 

Must be nice to still be doing what you want to do at the age of 

74. 

Grandson Chris and I buried Sister under our pony 

Beau's favorite tree in the pasture. 

With him is Nickie (cat), Gwen (cat), and Addie Mae and Hannah Jean, both pugs and all 

dearly beloved and missed.   I am so glad we chose to bring him home. 

I started the hole, but thank heavens for Chris's help, because he had to finish it. 

We did this to be on the safe side, I am hearing coyotes every night now, close. 

We are going to trim the lower branches on this tree, if Beau were alive now, he would not be able to stand under it because the lower branches have grown so. 

At least two of the four feral kittens are eating regularly in the 

henhouse. 

I am thinking I saw both black and white kittens on the 

camera last night. 

I also see Spooky, who has a very fluffy tail.  

The kittens are now 6 or 7 months old. 

There is Harlequin, I see her daily. 

But, these guys are still coming, too... though there was some food 

left this morning.  My plan is to make a cat door in the side wall, 

and put rabbit wire or maybe even a full wall between the feed room and the coop, 

so that I can keep chickens in there again. 

Right now, there is sagging poultry wire, and the raccoons and cats run up and down it, and 

over the top into the "coop side".  It might be easier just to build a wall and seal off the holes into the back of the henhouse, the coop side. 

Look whom popped up on the deck on the second camera...

That is the gray and white feral cat who eats at the gate. 

No wonder Sister used to catterwaul at night. 

and this guy....

and of course, another raccoon, though this looks like the big one that was in the henhouse. 

Twinkle has now graduated to a grown up litter box, and I am going to fill a hole with the used litter in her little old one. 

I also have to lift that heavy bag of dirt off the cat food in the mornings... Ugh... I'm getting a locking can this week.  I am using the other can for cardboard and plastic recyclables.

It looks bleak out, but I am liking the cooler November weather. 

Making a big pot of beef vegetable soup today for the volunteer's luncheon at the Ag Hall 

tomorrow... the house smells heavenly! 

Different Pictures

You are really supposed to photograph the 

moon in context with something else, so it's majesty will be apparent. 

This is the unframed uncut version from this morning, with a shorter lens. 

Beautiful! 

We had an Easter morning suprise!

(that's our side yard) 

In one day, we had rain, snow... and then sunny with mild 

temps, so that the dogs and I had a good walk after I had 

gone to church and Keith and I had had brunch. 

The new portion of the park at Basehor was landscaped 

on Friday, and some terracing was done. 

Just in time! 

There was a runoff creek running through the old and new sections of the park, spilling into the creek whose treeline you see in the distance. 

Park employees have also installed numerous benches on which to rest. 

Last year I had tomatoes in the big barrels on either side of our garage. 

This year, they are planted with perennials, a sage and a heuchera on each side. 

The neat thing is, I got each of these perennials at Grass Pad Nursery, they were 

last year's plants just coming back to life. 

$2.00 a piece. 

Uh huh. 

They will be joined by geraniums. 

This boy was on a pole on Leavenworth Road on our way to the park. 

And this grackle and about a hundred of his friends were in the yard when we got home. 

And this robin serenaded us from above. 

I have been trying to get a Western Meadowlark, and a Killdeer. 

I did pretty well with the meadowlark today.  I LOVE their song. 

We see you, Mama.  (click to enlargen) 

This is our friend hanging out at 155th and Fairmount. 

About 4:30, the phone rang.  It was Keith, who was coming 

home from the store with Chinese for dinner. 

He said "Mary Ann, get the camera and come out through the 

side door, the hawk is here". 

This is the Coopers Hawk that was hiding in the tree on Friday. 

He is watching for cotton rats on the patio. 

I was all Stealth Operations behind him, but he eventually flew. 

These guys were not coming back down, no sirree... until he was good and GONE. 

A New Bird

On Valentine's Day, I took the dogs for a walk... 

As we came along the field where I saw the coyote this week, I saw a bird in a 

wild area where the roads come to a "T".  I could not get a good 

picture of it, but here it was that day from a distance: 

There he is, he was looking down on a very wild woody area. 

See those distinctive stripes? 

I saw him again today, on a tree branch over the small pond in the middle of a big cultivated field, a quarter mile from the first place.  I have been looking for him daily. 

This is what he is: 

(from the web).  

Oh, someday I am going to take pictures like this!!!

A red-shouldered hawk, not a red tailed hawk.  

It was a juvenile red shoulder that attacked two of our roosters about five years ago, 

and the two roos fought him so hard, he lost some flight feathers.  Keith was 

able to throw a blanket over him and we caught him and took him to 

Operation Wildlife, who rehabilitated him. 

This is not a small hawk, though this picture makes it look like it. 

I'll be looking out for him now. 

This girl had a hard, hard day.  We walked about a half mile at noon, and I could tell she was limping a little, but she seemed eager. 

When these two got here: 

We decided to go back to the park for a while, to walk a little more, and 

so the kids could play at the playground. 

Lilly was worn out, I didn't realize it.  She was unable to jump into the car and I helped her scrabble up into the back seat.  The kids had to sit there, so I had to help her out again... and she could not get back in.  I finally lifted her and she went for me, the pain seems to be in her rear right hind leg and hip.   She made it home, but she is pumped full of rimadyl now, and won't be walking again. 

At least, until we go to the vet this week. 

I think she was pretty pooped out, and I didn't realize it.  This was right before we went back to the car. 

I have been trying different settings on the camera.  I have GOT to learn to shoot manually. 

Some pictures come out better than others. 

Fail. 

Better. 

I had to run by the grocery before the kids came, so I ducked into the cemetery to practice 

for a few minutes. 

Keith got a new vehicle today, a Dodge Grand Caravan.  I'm glad he didn't go for another truck. 

I'll get a picture of it in the morning. 

Right now, we're watching "Goosebumps" on tv before the 

kids' parents come back. 

I hope I can sleep tonight! 

Sunset. 

And moonrise.