Farm Funnies

I am learning to adult again.  I like that term because there are times I forget to do things that are necessary for day to day--like buying groceries.  When my milk is past the expiration date by a week or two, I think it is time.  When Jeff and I were first together, I had a hard time trying not to "do it all".  He was like that too, so we both learned to lean on each other.  In everything we did, we did it as a team.  Well as we all know there is no "I" in team, so I have to learn to be self sufficient again, since my team mate was drafted by the Angels in Heaven.

There are some things I learned from Jeff, but there were other things I didn't pay much attention to.  Like the pool.  Samantha and I managed to get it up and filled, as well as the filter and pump working.  Um for some reason this year I have frogs that have determined that it is "their" pond.  Imagine my chagrin as I am floating in the pool trying to relax,  when one of the frogs decides that my chest is a great place to jump out of the water.  The frogs have been evicted on multiple occasions only to return over and over.  Yes even with all the chemicals and chlorine they continue to return.

I keep trying, but I cannot seem to get my water to stay clear, it is a bit cloudy.  I have tried everything suggested, but to no avail.  Imagine my aggravation when it is now clearing up with no assistance from me. 

I have an 8 gallon waterer for the chickens.  When I clean it, if I fill it outside of the pen I can barely lift it up the 2 steps to get it back inside--think of it this way a gallon of water weighs 8 lbs so an 8 gallon waterer full is 64 lbs to lift.  I have started to take it out of the pen, clean it, put it back into the pen, and then fill it.  On a couple of occasions the pressure from the hose has caused it to snake out, wriggling all over like a cobra, essentially soaking me, and any chicken within a 3 feet radius.  Guess that comes from using the hydrant which has better water pressure than a normal tap.  I end up leaving the chicken coop soaked, and smelling like wet feathers among other things.

                                                             The offending water hose.

The clean and newly filled chicken waterer.  This day I had a pretty successful day, and didn't wind up totally soaked, but I have made sure I wear my chicken house/garden shoes.

The flies have arrived, and of course they adore the chicken house.  I took some fly strips out to hang, which I have done in the past.  1st fly strip went up easy peasy.  2nd fly strip, the little loop broke off and it fell, I luckily had a hold of the cardboard tube so not a huge deal, but I did lose the tack.  I looked all over through the bedding, even grabbing a magnet to look.  Still no go. I stuck the cardboard end on a protruding screw.  3rd fly strip--   I have to crouch to go into the nesting box area.  Hung the fly strip up, all of a sudden it fell from the ceiling, landing on me in the crouched/squatting position under it.  It landed on my chest, rolled down my arms and hands, finally settling on my legs.  OMG if you ever get that stuff on you, it does not come off! I scrubbed with hot water and soap, alcohol, finally had to wander downstairs to the laundry sink in the basement to use the Cherry Bomb scrubber in the ginormous bottle that Jeff had brought home from work.  If I wasn't so fat, and old I would have just stripped, covered my whole body in Cherry Bomb scrub and climbed into the laundry sink to wash all that fly paper sticky off. 

I will say that fly strips do a great job if you are a fly, not so much if you are a human.  See the opening, that is the small door I crouch through to gather eggs. 

I have been doing a lot of sewing trying to catch up and be ready for my class on Saturday.  Sometimes my plans don't go exactly as I dream. 

I finished up my arcs today.

I had finished my left facing arcs a couple of weeks ago.  I have one more day before class.  I have these flying geese arcs to complete.

I have 8 of these to make and each one is 40 pieces.  The background that looks like green is really more of a Caribbean blue. 

I have a few more fabric acquisitions.

Cute chicken and chick fabric, chicken feet prints,  and a candy square.  I love candy squares, I will add these to my tumbler quilt, or to assist in making the next set of quilts I am working on.  Oh I guess I should share those soon.  Yes I started something new. 

Some fun text fabrics, and chicken fabric.  The red and black which are side by side are chicken coops. I saw the gray and thought, just maybe it would match the fabrics in my ocean waves quilt, but no such luck. 

Back to my adulting.  I have purchased 5 cards lately to send.  One to a friend who lost her mother, another a thank you note to a friend who sent me a book,  a sympathy card to my ex husband who lost his father, and one for my ex mother in law.  Yep huge fail on my part.  I know I had them in my hand, I set them down, and cannot locate them again.  When other people lived here I could at least pretend that they possibly moved them.  Now I have no one to blame but myself.   I did manage to send out one get well card to a lady from quilt guild that has shingles and she is really struggling to get well.  So I am not a total goof.