Lazy W Marie

Carpeing all the diems in semi-rural Oklahoma...xoxo

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friday 5 at the farm, random animal stories

December 17, 2021

Friends, hello, hi! I have less than 38 minutes to type a blog post before it’s time to get ready for a double date. So here we go. And there will be errors. There Will Be Errors. (If you repeat that to yourself dramatically it sounds like a movie title.)

we keep it classy

Story Number One: Remember the brassica garden that was eaten voraciously by the chickens in, maybe September? Well the plants there have bounced back. They have bounced back so hard, you guys, and in fact now have cabbages and cauliflower growing enormously. Nature is amazing! I posted more about this on Instagram a few days ago. I am so happy. That particular garden healing has brought me lots of hope for spiritual battles.

Story Number Two: Today while refreshing nesting box hay and refilling waters in the chicken coop, a brick-red rooster strutted up to me, blinked sideways in that skeptical, sneering (but lovable) poultry way, and proceeded to sip fresh cold water straight from the garden hose. From the hose, you guys, like a little kid! Klaus saw this and gently snooted the rooster away to enjoy his own slurp, as this is his domain, thank you very much, along with the rest of the farm and all fun activities.

Story Number Three: I have dropped the ball on decorating one animal every day for Advent, but we are giving them all as much Christmas cheer as is farmishly possible, and we are definitely celebrating Advent ourselves in sweet little ways every day. Anyway. Ever since the day that Dusty got his fancy mane bows, Chanta has been hinting that it is, in fact his turn. He is sweetly aggressive about it, so I predict a braiding session this weekend.

Story Number Four: Another chicken coop story, but about the ducks. While I was in there cleaning up, the interior door fell open too far. We have the ducks separated for safety, and the chickens and roosters are free to pass back and fort, over the half wall. Mike Meyers Lemon followed me to the goose-occupied half of the coop yard and started freaking out because he was to far from Rick Astlee. He was too upset to allow me to just pick him up, so I walked a wide, slow circle behind him to give him a chance to see the open door. Meanwhile, Rick, from the other side of the pallet wall divider, started quacking in a higher and higher tone and more and more rapidly, just exactly the way Mike used to call for him last summer, when Rick would occasionally be lost at sunset. Who remembers that story? GAH! These ducks. They love each other. They are bros! Duck Bros! Rick’s quacking lured Mike with loving precision through the open door, and Klaus followed behind with much chuffing and a big, toothy grin.

Story Number Five: My husband outdid himself with Christmas lights and inflatables this year, and that’s saying a lot because he does a great job every year. We wake up to colorful cheerfulness early every morning, and we see it before bed too, thanks to the magic of programmable timers. Yesterday Klaus and I played fetch well after sunset, in the dark, with confetti lights and lasers flying all over him and the lawn. I loved it so much, and I loved it all over again today when I saw a bit of the action of security footage ha! More modern conveniences bringing us joy.

Ok that’s it! Time to scrape the chicken, umm, debris from my earlobes, find a clean tank top, and spritz some Febreze on my jeans. It’s Friday night in the big town! (Locals, name the meteorologist who used to say that)

How many errors did you find? Please check in soon for a whole post about JOY!!

ALL IS MERRY AND BRIGHT
XOXOXOXO

4 Comments
Filed Under: UncategorizedTagged: animals, carpe diem, chickens, farm like, friday 5, friday 5 at the farm, Joy, Klaus

free range friday

July 30, 2021

Our free range experiment is going well overall. Not a single chicken has been hawk-caught or otherwise injured during their daytime freedom romps, and Klaus is acclimating well to his newly crowded playground. In fact, he loves the two flocks being out, and when he isn’t protecting them he seems to be boasting his superior running and fetching skills.

We wondered whether any of the birds would know exactly how and when to retreat to the safety of the coop at bedtime, but our concerns were soon alleviated. Despite having only ever lived in either incubators or grow troughs or enclosed coops, every hen and every rooster (around thirty, total) has scooted peacefully to their correct shelters every evening, just before sunset. Knock on wood, we have done zero chicken chasing in the dark. Have you ever chased loose birds with flashlights, with your spouse, wearing pajamas, very tired, avoiding stickers, trying not to get in a fight and also getting sweaty before bed, but then definitely getting in a stupid fight but the chickens still don’t appreciate your efforts? Fun stuff. We are so thankful that has not been the case this year.

Our lone gander, Johnny Cash, is sometimes the wild card. He still rejects our offer of pond life, choosing instead to keep company with, and loosely referee, his adopted family. Occasionally at bedtime he is alone, still nested comfortably in the lawn. He honestly appears to be watching the sunset, though, and as we approach, he always waddles sweetly to bed. We say goodnight and latch the door behind him.

As I write this from the upper deck, the sun is basting me aggressively in my own sweat. Klaus is sitting on the top step of the pool ladder, cooling his hot feet and belly while Handsome sweeps the chlorinated water. To my left, some poultry chaos is brewing in the fire pit. One rooster and two hens have taken up residence in a small, empty cardboard box and are attempting a late afternoon ménage-a-trois. It is a novel setting, I will give them that. But they are making too much noise now, and BW has left the pool and walked over to evict them.

Now someone else is laying an egg in the shade garden, a particularly vocal event, and all the disruption is bouncing from one small group to another, layer upon layer of growing excitement. Exult! Celebration! Announcement! This lasts for several minutes and is so loud we cannot have a conversation. But we love it.

Now the south yard is mostly quiet. We gradually hear a few long, exaggerated moans plus a few stray, one-syllable clucks in the distance. Just here and there. Someone is hot and sleepy, and someone else has found a wealth of insects or worms and is calling everyone to the feast.

my newly arranged stone walkway is a joke to them

Free range ducks means that I can move their little plastic wading pool around the various gardens as often as I want, emptying it easily at the base of any thirsty shrub or in any flower bed as needed. I am not pouring the duck water on food, just to make sure I use compost that is as well rotted as possible; but this little nutrient-rich deep watering feels like a good choice for ornamentals. And the ducks love having fresh, shaded water every single day. It is so fun to watch them discover it anew every day. Splish-splash. Klaus stands and watches them too, smiling. Salivating?

Half an hour later, the same feathered trio attempted another cardboard box rendezvous, and this time Klaus took charge. He marched up to the edge of the fire pit and used his considerable snoot to tip over the box, emptying the lovers onto the smooth rock surround. More chaos. Many loud objections. A satisfied Shepp.

A few people have asked me recently whether the chickens do much damage to my gardens. The answer is yes, they certainly do some leaf shredding and crater digging for dust baths, but not enough to bother me. I harvest way more food than they ever eat. And they provide far more help to the gardens than harm. So the balance is in check for now. They eat grasshoppers and who knows what else. They uproot crabgrass for me and scratch the earth where it is impacted, leaving scant amounts of diggable fertilizer as they go. Symbiosis.

And gosh dang they are so fun and beautiful! I might think long and hard about exposing my more delicate early spring gardens to their treachery, but that decision is for next March. For now, this well established Eden in late summer can comfortably host these happy flocks.

they are not shy lol

The only new problem worth solving seems to be the sudden and conspicuous absence of fresh eggs. We get only three or four per day lately, compared to twenty or twenty-five normally, and most of the ones we do bring to the house have been found in random, temporary nests around the farm. Handsome tends to find a clutch near the base of the pool pump, which is enclosed by wooden walls. Today I found eggs inside a potted plant.

Two roosters are that empty box now. They are obsessed!

The End.

1 Comment
Filed Under: UncategorizedTagged: backyard chickens, chickens, choose joy, daily life, ducks, farmlife, Oklahoma, summertime

Hi! I'm Marie. Welcome to the Lazy W. xoxo

Hi! I’m Marie. This is the Lazy W.

A hobby farming, book reading, coffee drinking, romance having, miles running girl in Oklahoma. Soaking up the particular beauty of every day. Blogging on the side. Welcome to the Lazy W!

I Believe Strongly in the Power of Gratitude & Joy Seeking

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