Catch up

Playing catch up again on my blog… I need more days in the week. :)

We have a new dog!  Mini Pearl is her name and she’s the cutest bundle of joy. :)  She’s a Chi Apso, a mix of Chihuahua and Lhasa Apso. 

The day we got her.

A few days later.

We’ve pulled the net out of the river this past week except for the weekend.  We’ll probably put it back in again this coming weekend depending on how often Sydney and I drive back and forth to Lytton.  The Lytton Riverfest Pow Wow is this weekend and we’d like to attend a few of the festivities.

There’s been several bears we’ve seen down at the river.  This guy/gal was walking on the road and when he/she spotted us headed for a tree.

This was one of two but they didn’t get close enough together to snap a pic.

Lots of eagles have been hanging around too.

I’ve been practicing birds in flight and find it tough to lock in on them… with some advice from my fav teacher Davimack I will keep trying. :)

Pulling the net one morning we found a small sturgeon.  Talk about prehistoric looking things!

One of the last days we were at the river the Fish Monitoring Boat crew came up and spoke to Hubby.  They keep track of how many sockeye are caught on the Fraser River.  All are quite friendly and a pleasure to speak with. :)

I’m still entering photos for the weekly assignments at DPS.  This one took 1st runner up for Bugs and Insects last week.  We found the nest in our travel trailer.

The latest assignment is Books and I’ve entered a pic of Sydney with “Books on the Brain.”  It’s “Cars” after this one and I don’t have any idea what I’m going to do.  Jevan’s hot wheels springs to mind but I’ll have to think on it. :)

Another batch of chicks….sighhhhhh, do Banties ever quit bringing home bundles??

Whew that’s it!  Hopefully it won’t be as long before my next post, sorry to all my dial-up friends but I have reduced the size of the pics so hopefully they won’t take too long to load. :)

I’ve created a Facebook Photography page on Facebook and if you’d like to join please click the icon on the right side of my blog, Facebook will open and then click “Like” while there.  I find I’m putting pictures up at Facebook and Flickr before I get to my blog so if you’d like to see them earlier please join me at Facebook. :)

For a more pictures of the above post visit my flickr site:

***************************

And the snow melts!

Wow, one day of heavy snow and the next day it melts so fast I’m thinking “Did it really snow?”

This was an accident involving a local Highway 12 resident on the day it snowed, previously we had nothing, nada, not a lick of snow, and haven’t had any for over a month.  That’s Hubby heading over the bank to make sure no one was in the vehicle… there wasn’t.

A RCMP officer from Lytton came up shortly after we arrived to check things out.

Then yesterday everything warmed up and all that snow had to melt… and it melted fast!  It was running off the rooftops of every building on the ranch.

The above pics were snapped right beside the chicken coop.  The chickens seemed to drag their butts sticking around their house most of the day until the snow was gone.

But at least they kept laying eggs!

Random pics

Last night I picked up my new lens and this morning headed out to take some quick shots.  Here’s some random pictures with a few photoshop actions applied to them.  We’re heading down to the river in a bit so I will post more pics tomorrow.

One of the roosters from the barn scooting across the road.

Two heads are better than one!

Our banty rooster, Sammy.

Sydney has fun twirling these to the ground.

The lens is a Canon EFS 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM wide angle.  I did have to sharpen all the pics but for the most part they turned out okay.  I bought it to mostly use for landscape shots but it does a good job with close-ups too.

Along with my new lens, the rubber frame eye piece replacement came in… but it’s the wrong one!  Darnit all anyway.  I reordered the right one but it’s becoming a real pain lately without it.  I hope Canon delivers fast!

Well we are out the door with hotdogs and wieners in hand so I’ll cut this short.  Have a great weekend everyone! :)

For more pictures please visit my Flickr site. http://www.flickr.com/photos/kansasa/

******************************************************************

A Trip to Kamloops

I waited until I was sure the ice had melted off the roads and then took off this morning.  I hate getting away late (10:15ish AM) because it means I’ll be home late but it actually wasn’t bad, I made it home by about 8:00 PM.  I even stopped in Cache Creek and visited Hubby for a bit, that’s where he’s staying while working in Venables Valley.

The only incident I had was some guy almost plowed into my cart in the Superstore parking lot… while I was in the crosswalk!  If that wasn’t bad enough, after “Mario Andretti” zipped around the front of my cart, the woman directly behind him almost hit me!  She was decent about it, hands over her eyes waving sorry, but then I think she heard me loudly say “CROSSWALK!!” and point my finger down.  I’m pretty sure, in Canada, pedestrians still have the right of way in crosswalks!  Yeesh I think it’s time Superstore put traffic lights in front of their doors!

I’m posting a pic I’ve had for a few days and just haven’t had time to post.  This is “Sammyson,” son of our oldest banty rooster, Sammy (hence the name).  Sammyson has seldom ever come in the coop and spent most of the cold winter nights up in the willow tree near our chicken house, along with about 8-10 banty hens.  I have no idea why the banties get it set in their heads to roost in the willow but Sammyson sure paid for it… with his crown.  Oh he did have a nice looking crown at one time, then it turned all black and then one day it just fell off.  In the background you can see his father with a full crown, that’s because he knows where to go at night.

For more pictures please visit my Flickr site. http://www.flickr.com/photos/kansasa/

******************************************************************

Snow, snow, and way more snow.

I missed last weeks assignment over at DPS because of my broken internet... although I was on dial-up, there was no way I could upload a picture.  Hubby fixed the dish on Friday so now all is right in my world :)  This week's assignment is "sound or noise" and with Hubby coaxing Goofy I was able to get a shot that, I think, portrays "noise" quite nicely.



Yesterday we had our first touch of snow... actually it was a bit more than a touch but thankfully it didn't last.



Early this morning, just as daylight was breaking, Hubby and I took a drive down to the river, and then up to Kirby Flats along the powerline road.  This is a shot of a neighbouring ranch; Foster Bar, on Highway 12.  This time of year the fog lays quite heavy above the river and every morning slowly rises to cover our whole area.



Looking north heading down towards the river.  A teeny bit of the sun is visible on the mountain and that's about all the sun I've seen today.



Coming back up from the river we head for Kirby Flats. 
The snow is pretty heavy up there.  I sort of knew what we were in for and put on two shirts, two pairs of pants, two pairs of socks, a scarf, one glove and one fingerless glove so I could still run my camera... but next time instead of my rubbers (gumboots) I should wear something with a bit of grip because, yikes alive, it was slippery walking on the road!



Half way up the powerline we ran into a tree blocking the road.  Visions of backing down this steep, slippery, snow covered, one lane road almost made me start hyperventilating!



I thank the Lord that I live with a logger, especially when he's packing his chainsaw.  (Wiping sweat from brow).



In short order he's got the tree all cut up and if anyone is looking for firewood it's piled alongside the road :)



Brrrrr I can feel that cold snow down his back!



It's pretty clear up where we are but the fog hasn't made it up yet.



Coming back down, and dipping into a bit of a valley, the snow gets really thick.



Stopping at one of the fences alongside the road, all I can think is how heavy the snow is and it would be perfect for building a snowman... but the kids are back home snug in their beds.  Next time we are leaving later so the lazy's can come with us :)




For more pictures visit my flickr site.
***********************************************************

No Vacancy

After a long day foraging for food, 13 chicks rest every night with their Mama.




Quarters are getting quite cramped but the nursery is full with Granny and her 5, almost grown, chicks.




"Hey Lady, can you build a bigger box for us?"




Finally settled in... "zzzzzzz..."



For more pictures visit my flickr site.

**********************************************

Dammit (excuse my french)

Three days ago "Midnight," a chicken who was born into my flock ages ago, showed up with 14 chicks! I have to tell you that Banty chicks are absolutely awful for disappearing and then showing up three weeks later with a brood of chicks, but I'm getting used to it, somewhat. Anyhoo, the chicks were doing great, Midnight is not a first time Mama and she was out and about with them all day. I wasn't able to find her nest, and believe me I tried, because we usually gather up the new chicks and put them in the run for their safety. Trying to gather up 14 chicks during the day, along with a testy banty, is not easy so we try to do it later at night, but not having any luck finding her nest made that impossible. Last night I said to Sydney "have you seen the chicks out and about?"

She replied "Nope." I started to worry and then this morning bad news. Sydney came running in the door with one chick hollering that she can't find Midnight and a couple of chicks are running about by themselves. Oh oh, was the first thought through my mind. I told her to go take a good look because she's probably beside the overflow of the run water in the tall grass.

She came in not two minutes later, tears streaming down her face, "I found Midnight, dead, with two chicks beside her, dead."

I went running out there and, sure enough, Midnight is laying there, feathers spread all over the place, from her nest (it was easy to see at that point) right down to behind our old motorhome. I lift her up and there's two more dead chicks beneath her. She had 14, and Sydney had found two, so still 8 missing. In total we found 6 alive and one more dead one, the rest have totally vanished. I'm now on the hunt for the dog who killed her. A coyote was spotted on the ranch the other day but if it were a coyote it would have taken Midnight away with only feathers left behind. She was killed more in sport and not for food, you could tell that. I can't stand a dog who kills chickens and be forewarned that if I catch a dog in the act of killing a chicken I will... well let's not go there 'cause it ain't pretty. I absolutely love my dogs but they know what will happen if they even look at a chicken the wrong way... unfortunately not every dog on the ranch has been raised this way.

So now I have six chicks with no Mama. Sydney and I set up a large cooler with a heat lamp, water, and food but what a pain and I'm hoping that "Granny," who's never had a batch of her own chicks, will quickly adopt them. She's always shared and adopted every batch of chicks we've had so hopefully it won't be long and they will have a Mama again.

Here's a few pics of the little gafs.







And here's Granny. She's old I know, but she sure does stay with the chicks long after their Mama leaves them.

Chicken Tales

I get all sizes of eggs. Small ones from the Banty hens, regular size from the regular hens, and BIG ones from hens just starting, or just ending, their lives.

The regular size egg is in the center, it's hard to tell but the big egg is most likely a double-yolker and pretty much fills my hand.

I have an assortment of chickens, mixed and matched over the years, with new ones added to the coop every so often. I thought I'd pretty much seen everything there is to see with eggs; ones with no shell, wrinkled eggs, half shell eggs, HUGE eggs, small eggs.... but then these gals do something that surprises me.

I've seen eggs that were small, or so I thought, but I have never, ever, not in my whole life, seen an egg this small come from my coop! The youngest chickens I have are about three months old, hens don't start laying until about five months, so I'm pretty sure this egg didn't come from any of them, but you never know.

Rough day

Sometimes you have to do things on a ranch that you really don't want to do, you think that you are incapable of doing. I usually have Hubby around to do those things... unfortunately he's up in the Charlotte's working.

One of my chickens is sick, she's old and you can tell she has a problem. She's suffering, and I have to put her out of her misery. I find it hard to do when, after five + years, she has given me so much, but one can't stand by and watch an animal suffer. I did walk over to the shop looking for Pops but he wasn't around. I spoke to my BIL and my nephew, but today everyone is out rounding up cows to give them medication before anymore calves are born, and they were needed elsewhere. I knew what I had to do...

With a heart feeling like lead I went to the closet and grabbed the .22 gun I own. I loaded it with one bullet, stuck two in my pocket and headed out the door.

She was sitting in an odd position by the chick waterer. I moved the waterer, said I was sorry, and held the gun to her head. One shot and she was down, and I felt horrible. I am happy she is not suffering anymore and has found peace.

Yes there are many times I wonder how we can gather the strength to do the things we do? I admit I'm a "town" kid, I was not raised on a ranch, nor a farm, but I've done more things in the last 15 years of my life that I never would have done if I lived in town... good and bad.

It's times like this when I think about the birth of a single calf born just last week, or the peeping of a tiny chick breaking from it's shell, a full grown hen so trusting she'll eat from your hand... it's those times that keep me going and help me through the rough days.

The picture is one of my much younger hens in the coop.

A life lost, a lesson learned.

It is with a sad heart that I post today, and a bit of a long story.  Last Friday I had to drive to Kamloops to pick Hubby up from the airport, I had no intentions of staying the night, even leaving my laptop behind.  We were going to be home by roughly 9:30-10:00 PM, the kids would get off the bus at 4 and Mikey, my nephew, would keep an eye out on them until we got home.  I had everything planned... unfortunately the airline didn't like my schedule.

While I was shopping in Wal-Mart Hubby called and said the plane had broke down.  The airline had planned another smaller plane to get there but it would be late.  "How late?" I asked.  Well "late" turned into the next day.  I had to scramble to get a motel, and then make plans for someone to stay at the house with the kids.  I couldn't have the kids stay somewhere else because of the dogs, chickens, woodstove, etc, etc.  Someone had to stay there... Dallas came to the rescue when she texted me that Duane, her Hubby, would drive out and spend the night with them.  I explained the routine with the chickens, the woodstove, and the kids.  Everything would be okay, I breathed a sigh of relief.

Even with the plane postponed until the next day the airline still managed to screw up and by the time Hubby landed in Kamloops the plane was two hours later than what was scheduled.  Instead of 7ish he came in at 9:10 PM, it was pretty near midnight when we got home.  After unloading the truck it was about 1:30 AM by the time we crawled into bed.

The next morning I got up and headed for the coop.  All the chicks came running out but I was mainly interested in finding "Feathers."  I quickly scanned over the chicks but Feathers wasn't among them... I darted into the coop and looked around.  I found him stretched out in one of the lower boxes looking peaceful but unfortunately... dead.  Darnit, darnit, darnit.  As I said in an earlier post this month, "I sometimes wonder why I'm here?" and other times I wonder why I leave?

A few things went wrong, and Sydney, as young as she is, has had a stern talking to.  I was so upset on Sunday that I waited until Monday to speak with her.  All this has been explained to her and she has watched me many times.  Instead of laying pellets the chickens were fed only hen scratch, their feeder was totally empty.  Duane assumed that when he saw Sydney sprinkling food around it was laying pellets, Sydney didn't think at all.  Chickens need food and water, two essential things for living, especially in this cold weather we are having.  And because of this cold I have been leaving all the lights on in the coop for heat, Sydney had turned all the lights off except one.  Most likely Feathers died from cold, and I think what upsets me is his death was totally preventable.  I have taught my children that no matter how small or insignificant to them, all animals have living beating hearts and to die suffering is cruel.  I explained to her that when we have to put an animal down we do it quickly and as humanely as possible, and that we are most likely doing it because they have been suffering.  We never think of it as an inconvenience when we have to pack water, or trudge out into the snow to feed our animals, we do it because we care and because they cannot do it for themselves.  I told her that when you see a feeder or a waterer empty or even low, you fill it up, but you must look for it and don't "assume" that someone else is going to do it.  I could go on and on but I did get my point across to her and I think she has a better understanding now.

Psst, can ya spare some feathers?

On this day the temperature has warmed to a balmy -16 degrees Celsius.  I head for the coop to let the chickens out and, along with all the other chickens, the chicks come screaming to the door.  Within an hour most are back but some of the older birds brave the cold to soak up the sun.

Even some of the bravest chicks enjoy the sun for a bit.

Yes I have to say the chicks are growing well and have filled out nicely...

Well... all except one.  GASP!

Brrrr just looking at him makes me cold, and if it gets much colder I guess I'll have to bring him in the house.  How the dickens are you supposed to tell when a chicken is cold?  I did pick him up and shoo him back to the coop, and his body was really warm so he must be generating a bit of heat.  He's eating and drinking and doesn't seem too affected by the coldness so I'm going to leave him for now.  I'm calling him a "he" because with those long legs and long neck he sure does look like a rooster, time will tell I guess.

Oh by the way, I call him "Feathers."  Maybe if he hears it enough he'll grow some!