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Welcome In Luxury Furniture

See more home furniture, garden furniture, furniture shop, patio furniture, office furniture, furniture shops, the furniture store, furniture store, furniture stores INSIDE.

Welcome In Luxury Furniture

See more home furniture, garden furniture, furniture shop, patio furniture, office furniture, furniture shops, the furniture store, furniture store, furniture stores INSIDE.

Welcome In Luxury Furniture

See more home furniture, garden furniture, furniture shop, patio furniture, office furniture, furniture shops, the furniture store, furniture store, furniture stores INSIDE.

Welcome In Luxury Furniture

See more home furniture, garden furniture, furniture shop, patio furniture, office furniture, furniture shops, the furniture store, furniture store, furniture stores INSIDE.

Showing posts with label muscovy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label muscovy. Show all posts

Monday, July 30, 2007

That secret road trip, thrifting find, poultry update

As I mentioned previously, we made a trip to view some land. The land turned out to not be for us. There is a 1/2 acre flat area about 50 feet higher then the other 6 1/2 acres. The lower acreage flooded last year which does not make me feel good. Having a barn with poultry, goats, and cattle down there to chance is not what we want. We LOVED the area and am determined that is where we will buy. Land is cheap there, which means we can have our 10 acres (or more), the big 4 bedroom house, a nice barn and a decent greenhouse and not have to struggle. The realtor had her friend (who lived a mile down the road and had a hottie for a husband) meet us at the property. She was better able to tell us about the community, the school and even better first hand about the property. They drive by it every day. That is how we found out that last year, the entire bottom acreage flooded at least 1/2 a foot deep. We will continue to work with this realtor in our search. We are determined to buy before winter in that school district.

Stopped off at the thrift store for some kitchen towels- they alsway have those great waffle cloth kind for 50 cents- and I never leave without a look in the kitchen aisle. I keep my eyes open for big stainless steel bowls, possible cheese mold items, vintage picnic supplies or great old fashioned but in great shape kitchen ware. i am still looking for those old wooden box bottomed coffee grinders. I did spot one today but they priced it at $8. Just too pricey in my opinion for something that may not work. but I did find a great partner to my old picnic basket- which needs to have a few repairs on the edges.
A vintage jug thermos! The tag was in mint condition till the soapy water washed over it. DARN! Oh well, at least the jug is in mint condition inside and out. Just look at that aluminum handle. Not a speck of rust or discoloration. The lid untwists to reveal a small cup inside. Lift off the cup and the rim is wide enough for a soup ladle! Perfect for those fall outing picnics and I want to bring along some soup- some like that wild rice and sausage recipe I made last fall.
This just gives me another excuse to make another one of those picnic cloth sets-complete with a bib for Frog. One set with green, yellow, and tan colors to match my picnic set above.
The Muscovy ducklings are growing fast. There are 2 that are half the size of the other 14. Yes, that would be 16 total since another duck in my care has drowned in 4 inches of water... Poor thing must have got in and could not find its way out before the cold night came. So I moved the pool to a spot where it is on a slope . It puts the water in half while the other half is dry. They have steps to get in and out just to be safe.
Since we did the road trip this last weekend, I had to clean out the goat cabin, weed a 1/4 of the garden- since it has been wet for 2 weeks increasing their size like steroids, and visit the feed store for Chicken food. Those broilers are not at the size they should be by now. its my fault. I did not want a bunch of dead chickens due to all that eating, so I thought if I slowed them down some, it would increase their vitality and keep deaths at a minimum. Wrong. We are still down to 9 out of 15. So it goes to show, next time I will let them suck up all the food they want and not feel guilty. But D***, they eat alot despite my rationing. They are scheduled to go to freezer camp on the 20th. I hope I do not have to bump it up a few weeks. I want some fresh chicken for the captains birthday. Which is no longer a toga party. Too many people will be out of town, so maybe next year.
Enough rambling. Off to bed with you!
Sweet dreams,
~Tammie

Friday, July 6, 2007

How many do U C?, cast begone and Wagon makeover


Did you count them? I had to take a picture just to be sure I was not counting double. There were more eggs under her then I realized. 17 baby Muscovy ducklings. Now what the H*** am I going to do with 17 of them. I had not expected this many to hatch out. I thought maybe 12 or 13 at most. It costs $4 a duck for processing so I am doubting all will be done. We will save 1 female out of the bunch & hope it is not from Clyde. We will go with one that looks most to Bonnie's previous "bo".


Look who got her cast off today! Everyone in the family is happy about that one. The lil monster discovered that her cast makes a great people wacker and door banging is much louder. She was a real trooper. Not a wimper or tear was shed getting it on and not a tear or wimper was made while getting it off. She uses that arm as if there never was a cast on.
Big plans tomorrow. I am taking Panda & Frog to a "country skills" festival which centers around Goats. as i did my checklist of what to bring, it occurred to me, I need to bring something to pull frog in. I no longer own a stroller since they never work on hiking trails anyway. So I decided that our trail wagon needed a makeover. After all, it is 7 years old. It had to have the back wheels replaced this last Spring and the only available ones were bigger then the front. It gives it more of an all terrain tough touch, in my opinion. The inside was getting rusty due to being left outside in all weather conditions and a certain little boy last year decided he was going to paint stripes on the wood sides. So this is the new Frog friendly wagon:
I stripped off the wood and spray painted the (red) Red Ryder body with a sage green color from Rust- Oleum. I then spray painted all the wheels and other "wheel hardware" were spray painted black along with the handle.
The wood sides were cleaned of all dirt and old paint then painted with a "white wash pickling stain" by Minwax ( 1 qt. was on the clearence shelf for $2 from $10).
Of course how could it be finished without some new cushioning for napping little girls. It is one whole piece with 2 separate pillows inside. It ties at the top for easy removal and washing.
The umbrella is great for those sunny days to keep the glare out of her face.

I like it and will keep my eye out for more metal wagons that I can makeover for others. I may see if the local freecycle has any I can repair. I think it would make for a great kid birthday gift. I hate buying toys. I Love making stuff instead. I plan to make a few sun dresses and headbands but one of these would make a big hit in pastel pink...
Sweet Dreams,
~Tammie

Monday, July 2, 2007

Ducks are hatching!

Walked out this morning to find 3 Muscovy ducklings have hatched.
1 which hatched out in front of Panda & I.

Another had poked a hole before our eyes which was amazing to watch and then see these eggs jumping around in the nest along with little peeps.
As of 9pm, there are 8 that have hatched out with one who appears to be still soaking wet.I think I saw 5 more eggs left ( a which few I could see did have the beginnings of a hatch) which also means i was kinda off on my egg count from before. 2 rotten eggs exploded today and another looks black as they did- which leaves 4 good white Muscovy eggs and 2 chicken eggs yet to hatch. Man it stinks in that shed! The egg exploded right in the nest which means I can not do anything till she is ready to move off the nest with her babies. Hopefully the morning will bring a nest full of babies all hatched out and healthy. Lots of colors in the batch. There is one who appears to be brown and yellow. 1 looks all yellow and a good amount have Clydes black markings.
I'll be sure to get a few good shots of proud mama and her babies on parade soon.

Sweet dreams,

~Tammie

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Peek into my messy garden...

Sugar pie pumpkin sprouting Spinach taking its first glimpse

and just a peek at one of 4 gardens beds:


in front is broccoli & cauliflower Timber framed Lettuce bed has butter crunch (bright green sprouts) and romaine lettuce (in the back half not really visible).

I have a small trench running the length of my beds. I put wide wood boards there for the toads to hide under. I have to give reminders to the kids about how we want the toads to stay around the garden so stop lifting the boards! There seems to be at least one under them at every "lifting". So I must be doing something right. The stones in the beds are for stepping. Little helpers cannot reach the middle with their watering cans and need safe spots to plant their feet.
Bonnie and Clyde have been reintroduced to the main pen. They have been doing great! Of course it was not my idea. I was sitting on the back deck late the
other night and saw something white moving on the hill. I kept staring and then noticed what ever it was, it was shaking its butt at me. I yell out "bonnie- clyde". and they start waddling my way. That was the first night of having their pen cover removed and Clyde decided he wanted to go home to his old pen with his new lady. So Be it.

Mr. Turken was getting the crap beat out of him (by Clyde) and so was Mrs. Turken. So a switch in pens was best- the Turkens in the old 'scovy pen - the 'scovy's in the main pen with Lady Chia & Captain feather~sword's old lady harem. I wonder why he picked on just them. Clyde demands room for Bonnie and keeps the other's away from her during feed time. He is sure to clear way for her to sit in the nest at night- Dr.Seuss's favorite spot which is sometimes shared with her- and keeps her in his sight at all times. I do believe he loves her...
For Mother's day I got a new sewing machine. Nothing major. Its a Singer "Simple". I like the extra embroidery automatic stitches. Very nice touch for a machine under $100.
My first project to be sewn comes from the inspiration of SouleMama. Making a picnic tablecloth and matching napkins. Not exactly like hers, but the idea came from reading her blog. I will be doing the "rock pockets". Just LOVE that idea. It will also be dual purpose. A lawn blanket/picnic tablecloth. durable, warm for those chilly late summer nights and pleasing to the eye. Can't wait to share- heres hoping it comes out how I envision **cheers** and
Summer dreams,
~Tammie

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Spring cleaning & O.k,!! I get it already....

Disclaimer** no animals were hurt while taking these photos. Mentally scarred, but physically sound.**

Today was filled with cleaning out that Goat cabin. I experimented with the "layering system" this last winter and I will never do it again. A good 2 feet deep hay/straw tightly compacted that was soaked in big spots. Must have froze during th winter because the smell did not start till I got a foot deep today. gag....cough.... hold breath for a scoop... run quickly out... and breath in fresh air.....
It felt wonderful to get it all done. I had so much of it and I knew it had to be spread out to dry before I attempt to compost since the ammonia smell was so bad. Funny thing. I have sat down in there (on a board placed on the hay) with them and could not smell it until I got past the 1 foot deep layer. That second 1 foot layer must have held it in real well.So here it is all spread out to dry in the sun. (today hit 50F and the sun made it enjoyable!)
Yes. that would be the pile of pine trees ( in the back) we have yet to do anything with. Great ideas and dreams but our time is not so creative lately.
The weather seemed to have an effect on everyone around. On the right you have Lady Chia browsing away while I make her home all clean. She must be on a line since it is a weekday-I prefer no more visits from zoning, thank you. To the left we have one very desperate muscovy drake Clyde... That would be Mrs. Turken he is being rather amorous with. Below is a close up- when I walked out I did not know whether to stare in fascination of the odd couple or to laugh my butt off. I keep the camera with me so snapped a few shots to share the Spring Love. Don't worry. I did chase him away from her. He waddled his way back to her so i picked him up and held him down to the ground whispering how the chicks/ducklings would be the freaks of the neighborhood. Could you imaginge- if it were even possible-which I think it is not. A bare neck chick with the puffy red Muscovy "mask". How frankenstein would that be?!
He appeared to have calmed his mood and waddled to the pen to watch me muck out their home. Otherwise today was uneventful. Maybe this week I can squeeze some extra money from the tree and head down to the auction house to buy Clyde yet another wife. He best hold on to this one or he will just have to be happy with a goat as his companion. You don't think he would try to mate something that big do ya?.... (LOL)
Sunny dreams,
Tammie

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