It had been entirely too long since we ventured out to our nearby Amish settlement. Today was the day. Besides the usual shopping and visiting, we enjoyed these sights and scenes.
Whistle-pig (aka Groundhog) ~
beautiful baby & mama ~
A long-eared Friend ~
Sweet William in the pasture ~
Hopefully, I was able to send some Amish simplicity and peacefulness your way. Have a great remainder of the week!
Updated - this deal was only good on the day of the post, which was Sunday, April 17th. Didn't want to mislead anyone! Hope some of you were able to get the deal on Sunday. If not, keep watching Amazon magazine subscriptions till the end of April for other $5 deals you may be interested in.
Just have to share this deal :) I adore this whole family of magazines. My sister gifted me with a Hobby Farm subscription for Christmas (love!). Each day this month, Amazon is featuring one (random) magazine at a subscription rate of $5.00 per year (with auto-renewal). Today, and only today, it’s Hobby Farm Home. Run over there now if you love this magazine as much as I do. And here’s a tip-- this price is for auto-renewal (which will renew at the regular price after a year). So be sure to go into your account and manage your subscription soon to take it off auto-renew -- unless you want to pay full price after the first year.
{photo courtesy of hobbyfarms.com}
In our quest to never, ever run out of something to do around here, we’ve now added a sawmill to the mix. Actually, one of these babies has been on our wish list for quite some time. After loads of bad luck and great difficulty, our new project finally arrived a couple of weeks ago. Mr. W has been working on the base for it, and yesterday we finally got to try it out. The Blacksmith and the Fiddler worked very hard yesterday to accomplish this.
Everyone had their chance at a test drive. It was fun!!
Here, the Fiddler is the operator, cutting a slice of walnut from our old backyard tree that had died and was taken down a couple years ago. His sandbox was located under that very tree many years ago. Awwww ;)
Here are the first few walnut boards (they did get prettier with each cutting).
A closer view – see the Angry Ants?
The boards will have to cure for awhile, then they’ll be project-ready.
More sawmill posts to come in the near future. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods!
Actually, I think these new chicken wellies will be my Town Boots, and not Barn Boots. They are just too cool for school (at least in my mind!).
Again, a Blogger friend shared a tip on a great deal and I’m passing it on to you. Thanks, Sue at Country Pleasures blog! These wellies are factory seconds from Gardeners Supply. Originally, $50… now half price because they are slightly imperfect. {Oh, but they are perfect to me.} Use this code: XXXX1957 and get free shipping! (psssst…. they also have tomato boots for the same price – they look really cute as well).
Spring is here! I’ll briefly mention we also have a chance for snow and cold temps later this week. Nuff said about that! Notice the green clover in the first boot picture above? Many signs of Spring’s awakening here. The red bud trees are bursting and ready to bloom. Our Missouri Conservation calendar says they’ll be blooming next week. We also have the Purple Martin houses raised and ready for purple occupants (“we” means Mr. W, by the way).
Happy Spring, Everyone!
FYI: A Hen Saddle or Hen Apron protects the hens’ backs from overly zealous roosters.
It’s not like I don’t have other things to do, but making some hen saddles had been a priority on my list for quite some time. I love my two rooster boys just as much as my hens, but let’s face it… roosters will be roosters. My poor hens have bare spots on their backs. This can lead to wounds as well. So, this whole hen saddle thing is not just a fashion statement – it’s a matter of comfort, health, and protection for my little flock. And, after all…. look at what those girls do for me!
Thank you, Linda at Prairie Flower Farm, for alerting me that Tractor Supply has these red wire egg baskets for 4.99. So cute… and useful too!
I’ve had a pattern and some supplies on my sewing table for quite some time, but the thought of sewing 15 little ‘jackets’ for my hens seemed like a big time commitment.
I’m so not into the whole big time commitment thing.
Enter Backyard Chickens and some pure genius creative minds who came up with an idea to do no-sew polar fleece hen saddles. There seemed to be several folks who were trying this out, so I thought.. what the hay? I’ll give it a try too.
Polar fleece is stretchy and does not have to be finished. How perfect. I also had some on hand. Even better!
Supplies: Grab a tape measure (measure the space from wing to wing on the back & from “shoulder” of wing to the start of the tail – this will give you an idea of the size), polar fleece fabric, scissors and that’s all you really need. If you have several to make, grab some scrap cardboard too and make up a template (once you’ve perfected your design).
It took four trial runs before I finally came up with a design that seemed to work for my Ameraucana/Easter Eggers (I consider them to be standard or average size hens).
Here is my “prototype saddle” with the cardboard template underneath.
It does look somewhat like a mask, don’t you think? The “eyes” at the top are where the wings are pulled through. The “mouth” at the bottom is for the tail. I just started out with a very ‘guestimated’ measurement, and cut the basic shape and some holes. Then I proceeded to modify (and modify…). It will take a little practice to get it just right for your birds. In fact, I know mine still are not just right.
Fitting day was a fussy day in the chicken coop. Nobody wanted to take their turn at being fitted for their “jacket”. Squawks could be heard far and wide. There was also lots of flying across the chicken coop – a rather dangerous place to be, I might add. But we survived, and nobody really seems to mind them now – after a couple weeks of use.
Here’s the line-up for bedtime…
They have remained in place fairly well. However, morning and night I may find 2 or 3 out of the 15 who need ‘adjustments’.. i.e. a wing slipped out, or a tail. And yes… once or twice a day, one girl (usually Opal) manages to completely pull and wiggle their way out of the saddle… leaving their garment in the nest box or in the muddy chicken pen. But still, it certainly buys them a little time to grow some feathers back.
Lucy examines her new saddle. 
Maybe when Summer arrives I’ll get more ambitious and try to make some of the cotton/interfacing/elastic saddles that my pattern is for.
Or, perhaps I’ll just build a Bachelor Pad and keep the boys separate. Best.idea.yet!
I do see the need to make about 4 smaller saddles as Opal, Miss Cluck, Loretta and Bella are a little smaller than the other girls and have trouble keeping their garments on :)
If you’re not into DIY, but a hen saddle sounds like something your chicken girls could use, check out Mandy’s Rabbit Ranch blog. Mandy and her mom make and sell some really cute ones here. Quite reasonably too, I will add!
I’m sharing a snowy walkabout around parts of our farm this morning. It’s very pretty, and I really don’t have much else to say except hopefully this is the last big one of the season. We grow weary :)
Stay warm and well!
{Scoop from the Coop, aka Saddle Up Your Chicken will be forthcoming, after we dig out!}
Linking to Verde Farm’s:
But, sorry -- no chicken dinner from this coop!
Lucy, attempting to remove her chicken saddle.
Now, I always say, it but I truly mean it… I wish I had a CSN gift certificate for each and every one who enters. Thanks to all who commented, and bless you for following along. If you weren’t the lucky one this time, hopefully it will be you the next time around. I numbered each entry in order received, and headed over to random.org to choose the winner.
The winner of the $50 CSN Stores gift certificate is…
Nezzy of Cow Patty Surprise!! Please take a moment and visit her blog. Nobody I know has such a way with down-home country speak. You’ll be entertained and delighted with her tales from the farm! And, she’s a sweetheart. Here’s Nezzy’s comment --
“Girl, we're gonna have to take up a collection and get you a suit of armor for the chicken coup before you 'really' hurt yourself!!!
You take care and know I'm prayin' for both hubby's back and for you too dear!
God bless and have a marvelous Valentine's Day!!! :o)”
Congratulations, dear Nezzy!! I am sending you an email right now with your prize enclosed. Please email me back when you receive it so I know it’s safe and sound and in your hands :) Have fun shopping!!
Thanks for all of your entries, and wonderful comments. Hope to do this again soon!
In reference to the “Lucy” photo above -- I’ve been working on a special chicken project this week, and it (pretty much) seems to be a success so far. Check back soon for the scoop from the coop!
Update: Giveaway closed -- winner selected!
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
*I chose this verse to be a part of our wedding vows – almost 32 years ago.
This week we celebrate Valentines Day. In honor of this special and important event, and in celebration of the fact that Spring is officially just a little more than a month away, we are hosting a giveaway!
The winner will receive a $50 gift certificate to CSN Stores.
Did you know that CSN Stores is actually comprised of over 200 online stores? If you’re looking for something – chances are, CSN has it. Not to mention, it’s a safe and fun place to shop.
Perhaps you need some home office furniture so you can feel more comfy while doing your taxes (every little bit helps).
Or… how about this beautiful pergola to usher in Spring?
Really, they do have it all.
There’s only one thing you have to do – become a Follower (or tell me if you already are), and leave one comment. Be it a happy comment or a whine (please see my whines below)… let it out. You’ll feel better. It’s been a loooong winter after all! Please also make sure that I have a way to contact you – via your profile or otherwise.
Comments will be closed around noon on Saturday, February 19th, and at that time I’ll head over to random number generator to select a winner. Winner will be contacted via email immediately thereafter. The gift certificate should arrive in your inbox early the following week.
Now, I’ll do a mini-update since I’ve been absent a few weeks. Hmmm, where to begin?
*We survived a major blizzard.
*Mr. W had back surgery.
*We were snowed *out* (as opposed to being snowed in).
*I slipped, fell and injured my knee (not on the ice, but in the chicken coop).
*One of my “sweet” roosters busted my lip today (well, isn’t that the icing on the cake?)
But, we are alive and well in spite of all that, and Mr. W is healing quite well from his surgery. And I am healing from my minor injuries. We really have a lot to be thankful for, in spite of a few miscellaneous whines.
So, Happy Valentines Day! Make it a loving one.
and…
Good luck!
*Us – Cruise pic back in 1999
.jpg)
