We have all enjoyed Carolyn's Creatures so much that it's filled up enough space to make it load too slowly to carry on. So here's the sequel ... the ongoing saga of A City Women on the Loose on a Texan Farm.

OK, this is "really" the last batch of poultry for the year. I think I told you that we booted the turkey hens off their nests when the weather turned hot. The silly things would otherwise just sit on the eggs, going without food and water, until: 1) they died, or 2) the eggs hatched. So, I loaded up the incubator one more time with a bunch of turkey eggs and a few guinea eggs.

Tonight while preparing the feed for the animals, I heard a lot of commotion coming from the incubator, and lo and behold, we now have 6 baby turkeys and 3 baby guineas in the "Stage 1" cage, along with a pitiful little buff (chicken) that is a misshapen dwarf who is about a month old and the same size and the new babies. I know we should off the dwarf, but none of us has the heart to. We keep hoping the poor little thing will croak, but we just keep caring for it and feeding it, and it just keeps hanging in there. There are still some more eggs in the incubator that appear to be hatching, so we may have some more babies tomorrow.

When I decided not to let the hens sit the nest, I got the eggs from one nest, loaded them in the incubator, and Husband and Son had to move the trailer the next day to get the other two nests that were beneath it. Well, did I get lucky with my choice of which eggs to move. I just washed them off and stuck them in the incubator. When Husband attempted to do the same thing, the eggs from the other two nests started exploding. They were all rotten!!! Not only did he and Son have rotten egg all over them, but they said it took all day to get the stench out of the shop. So glad I missed that excitement. Fortunately, that was the weekend I ran away from home for a weekend slumber party at my cousin's house, and so missed all the exploding rotten eggs.

Carolyn, I feel sorry for the guys!!! Man, I don't think I could handle that smell!! Oh..and bye the way it was fun meeting you and your family the other nite......

Well, David, having rotten eggs explode on you is kinda like a lot of other things in this life. Once it happens, you just deal with it. Some people, however, deal with exploding eggs better than others.

And thank you. It was nice to meet you and your wife as well.

I was so sad tonight. I had put the new babies in the turkeys' tractor for the day, and when we went to get them, one of the baby guineas was missing. They are tiny little critters at first, and I looked around a little, but the cats take out bigger birds than that all the time. About 1/2 hour later, I was going to check on something else, and just happened to see this tiny bird jump into a clump of grass. I made a flying leap, landed on my stomach, and grabbed the bird, just as it was about to go through the fence into the pasture, where I NEVER would have gotten it. Tomorrow I'll have to devise a preventative for the escape route. I couldn't be lucky enough to find a missing tiny bird two days in a row.

NEVER a dull moment ;-)

That reminds me of what happened to a poor little canary of mine a few years ago, I had to go into the aviary, and just as I did this little thing flew over my shoulder and into the garden. I shot straight out, but no sign of it, just our tom cat standing on the lawn. As I looked closer, I saw the yellow tail feathers sticking out of his mouth. It appears that the unlucky bird flew straight at him, bet he couldn't believe his luck.
If you are looking for a happy ending to this story, Figaro, the cat, says canaries taste great, and he now meows in tune.
Needless to say, I am much more careful now, when entering and leaving the aviaries.
On the bad egg thing, it is just something you come to terms with if you keep birds, they haven't perfected the art of laying them with a use-by-date stamped on the shell.

Poor little canary. Understand about Figaro, though. Just doing what cats do. I once dashed out of the house to try to stop Mama Kat from eating a cardinal. I had looked out the window and she was in that stalking crouched position and aimed at the cardinal. Broke all my existing land speed records on that one. I think it was the yelling, though, that scared the bird away. Mama Kat was totally disgusted with me.

Do you have double doors on your aviary now? At the Fort Worth Zoo, there are a couple of very large ones, and they both have the double doors. That might not be feasible in a home setting though.

We were planting a couple of trees the other day, and when my husband took a shovel-full of dirt out of the hole, I noticed an unusual rock. After closer examination, it was a goose egg that apparently the dog had buried for some future snack. That's why we didn't have many goose or duck eggs this year....the dogs kept eating them!

My main aviary, Carolyn, I now access from inside the shed, much safer that way. I would be careful with the close examination of those aged eggs.

Well, it topped out at 100 degrees here today. I think this is the first triple digit day for us. The "feels like" temperature was 109. I, however, spent the entire day outside working on the notorious rose bed....which is now roses and a lot of other stuff. I gave up at 6:30 with an area of about 3X3 left. I have been double and triple digging the bed (search and destroy nut grass bulbs) and then planting and then mulching heavily. Terry, FYI, I took about 6 swimming breaks when I felt heat exhaustion coming on.

I have about decided that the nut grass came in with the monkey grass the previous owner planted, as I have found huge bulbs all in the big clumps of that stuff that line the perimeter of the bed. So, I am breaking the big clumps apart, searching the roots for the N.G. bulbs, then breaking the big clumps into very small ones and replanting the perimeter. Very tedious and time consuming, but it really looks better. I'll post a pic when I'm finished.

The worst areas of N.G., I am planting with annuals, so when I have to dig up more of the dreaded, evil weed, it won't be the good plants that I'm messing up.

Fortunately, have yet another nephew visiting, so the kids did the chores as Mom/Aunt was too shot to do anything besides float in the pool (barely face up).

Gee Carolyn, You know how to GARDEN that is for sure....Weed a while and float a while......If it was me it would be a "Nestea plunge"!!!!!!!! Good luck with your new bed....but don't forget there is always next YEAR!!!!!!!! You can not do it all!! and don't you have a party to put on at your House????? Something about Organic Club??

Us too David! Sounds a lot like our evening. We gardened, swam (lolled in pool), cooked outside, ate outside, swam (drifted in pool), gave the knot garden a haircut, swam (sat in pool). See Terry, folks in this climate tend to live in swimsuits! Brit Cousin Monica was extremely amused to see me cooking breakfast in a swimsuit. Then she caught on and started putting hers on first thing in the morning for an after breckers swim. By lunch, an unshaded pool is just too hot to be in for too long. At 10 pm the water is still 88 to 90F in the summer. Just add bubbles ;-)

Terry, Nicola, and everyone else in cooler climes, just a note to help you appreciate where you live. It hit 103 degrees here today. Its now 5:00 pm and still 102 deg.

Have been looking at a book of Italian country homes, featuring the outdoor eating areas. They are so lovely, with the rustic table and chairs, the vines forming a ceiling above the dining area. One can almost imagine a breeze, good conversation, good food, and good wine. An idyllic place to spend a summer's afternoon.

If we tried that here today, I think all diners would croak.

I don't know that sounds pretty good to me ...What time????
There is a fan that has a water emitter on it that would be perfect for that job....You plug it in to A/C and then the water hose and just set the speed of the fan.....My brother bought one at Home Depot or Lowe's over the weekend it is just right.....Nice breeze and gentle water spray

Imagine what it was like to come from the English climate to Texas in the days BEFORE AIRCONDITIONING! I think my mother may have invented an early version of those mist-er gadgets in 50’s, David. She strung some wet laundry across the porch, turned the electric fan on it and sat in front of it all on the porch swing. Sometimes desperation is the mother of invention!

As for dining outside in 100F, I have a recipe for you Caro. Tonight we enjoyed ice-cold watermelon while in the pool! We also find great evening respite down by the gazebo. On the lawn, in the shade and with a Southerly breeze it is often 15 to 20 degrees cooler down there, than on the hot patio. But then the mosquitoes have also discovered that, so numerous citronella candles have to be lit in advance!

Well, sitting in the pool eating watermelon sounds a whole lot better than what we were doing probably about the same time.

We lured the sows one at a time into their birthing pens. You realize, of course, that they are about 450 lbs and you can't force them anywhere they don't want to go, so it took a couple of hours. By the time we were through, we all had pig poop all over us, and were generally filthy and sweaty. Fortunately, we had done all the other chores before tackling that one.

Then, we hit the pool, and just now have come inside.

David, I didn't know about that water emitting fan. Husband says they do have it at the Depot, so maybe that would be the thing to get for my poor pregnant sows instead of the mister thing...or maybe both!

In case you folks don't know, pigs don't have sweat glands, so its imperative that they not get overheated or they will absolutely croak!!

Actually saw the sun today, temperature soared up into the high 60's, nearly took off my woolly jumper. Went for my walk to the woods, not been for a few weeks, you should see the growth in there, bracken is now eight feet high and still growing. In all the time I've been going there never have I seen so much plant growth, shows what can happen with unlimited water, made the place seem almost magical.

I'd rather eat watermelon than chase big mucky pigs any day Caro - a good reason to stick to just a garden and let you do a farm! Plus, I have enough plants to water without having to water pigs too ;-)

But sure could use just SOME of Terry's rain. Eight foot ferns ... take any pictures ?????

First sow delivered this afternoon. Last count: 11 little piggies.

Congratulations Momma Pig! What a portrait!!!
I really AM glad YOU have a farm Caro, so I can experience it by osmosis !!!

Hope you guys are interested in this.

I've been pretty busy this afternoon, in spite of the 107 deg. temperature. The first of our sows delivered her babies between about 2:00 and 5:30 p.m. She had 11 live babies, but we lost one a little while ago, when she sort of rolled on it. That was sad. Maybe that's why they have so many babies?

We have raised these 4 sows from the time they were 8 weeks old. They are the only pigs we've had so this birthing season is our first...."pig-wise."

Another of the sows should deliver tomorrow, and then the other two will be a few days later. They are all in the special pig birthing pens, which are supposed to prevent the crushing thing that already happened.

We have a hose strung across the rafters above the pens that shoots a mist out across the girls. Even with the extreme temperature today, it was relatively bearable in the barn.

The photo above are the special birthing pens. The next one is a photo of me holding one of the babies.

Wow!!!!! Carolyn you really have a FARM out there in the sticks!!!! My wife would love to pet all of your little ones that you have on your farm....
It looks like you all have thought of everything!! Good Job to you and your Family....

I can see lots of baby piggies, but once again my eyes are failing me, try as I may I cannot see you holding any of them Carolyn.

Is your boar a saddleback, I noticed the two types of piglets?

One of my little pigs just produced again, only two babies this time, and unfortunately one of those was badly mutilated and dead when I found it. I think mum had problems giving birth and damaged it whilst trying to help it on it's way.

Bet you are enjoying seeing the youngsters, that is for me the best part of keeping any livestock.

Terry, Caro is on the right of the last pic. Do you need to scroll over to see all of the image? Maybe you are on the lap top and need the big screen to find her. or just need strong glasses
;-)

This morning when I went out to check on the pigs, I fully expected that maybe a few of the babies had been crushed in the night. What I in no way expected was that the sow would be DEAD!! All the little piglets were nursing away, and there she was....dead as a doornail!

So, now we have 10 little piggies in a cage, and we have Carolyn bottle feeding them every hour.

Am hoping when the next sow delivers, I can sneak these babies in with hers, but am not counting on it.

Terry, I don't know why you can't see the baby I'm holding in the picture. And the boar is what we call over here, a Hampshire. The sow is a Yorkshire.

David, you and your wife feel free to come out this weekend. Ya'll can help with the bottle feeding. Wear old clothes and bring several changes.

OH NO
I can't take it. I am so distraught and I never even met her - nevermind raised her from piglet. I really would make a lousy farmer.
Can one of the other preggy pigs wetnurse for the babies before she gives birth?

I am so sorry about your Mother Pig!! Why do you think it died from??? To hot???? Any way so sorry!!!!!

There you are Carolyn, thanks Maggie, didn't realise you could post such large pictures, it set a size limit when I tried.
My goodness Carolyn, ten little orphans, how will you cope, that's a lot of little bellies to fill. Such a shame that the mother died, amazing how they sometimes hang on to give birth and so provide their young with a chance at survival. How long will you have to bottle feed if the other sow won't accept them?

I sure hope you can type while bottle-feeding, Caro, because I'm waiting for the next installment - getting the corpse out of the barn (and putting her where?).
Think I'll write Hollywood. They are always looking for new sit-com material.

Cousin came out after work last night and was a fantastic helper with the piglets. He also unloaded a truck of feed for me, which was also wonderful. Husband thinks he broke a rib doing something probably so stupid that he won't even tell me how he did it! So, I would have been the one to unload the feed.

Cousin was also the idea man on getting the pig out of the barn without actually tearing down the barn to get to it. When they started on that project, I told them that was a guy thing, and I left them to it while I watered my flowers. It wasn't 20 min. later, and here they come with pig in the front end loader of the tractor. I was very impressed with the speed in which they got the job done, considering that I had thought it would be an all day project.

David, thanx for the condolences. There are any number of things that could have caused the demise of favorite pig. She might have had another baby stuck inside, or couldn't pass the placenta, or ???? When they had her in the front end loader, I said I thought I'd go ahead and pull out whatever was hanging out to see if I could figure out what had happened, and the guys told me they were afraid she would explode if I did that! So, still a mystery.

Terry, I have no idea how long I'll have to bottle feed. Hopefully, I will be able to either: a) foist them off on one or more of the other sows when they deliver; or b) get them on a mash at a very young age. Honestly, don't know how many days of this constant feeding of piglets I can handle. We only fed the baby goats 5 or 6 times in 24 hours, but these little piggies seem to need about 2 oz of milk/food every hour or two. Oh, and have I mentioned that these little critters have very sharp teeth and strong jaws? I am mixing up a powdered milk replacer with water and bottle feeding them one at a time. Of course, with wonderful cousin here, it went faster, but alas, he's gone home now. Check back with you guys tonight.

Well, we were away all day Caro, so I had an out for not coming to help you sit in a mucky hot barn feeding babies. Hope you have moved them closer to your living quarters for your sake and that David and Cheryn came to help! We didn't hear from you last night, so hope you survived and am up to another day of mothering, poor thing!

Fortunately, husband was home yesterday to help with piglet feedings. We put them in the back of the truck in between feedings and then as the shade moved, drove the truck to new shade. That was pretty inventive. Only problem today is that I have to go get at least a few groceries, and can't decide what to do with piglets after first feeding. Am considering putting them in the turkey's tractor after I let the turkeys out. That might work ok for a couple of hours.

Someone told me you might be able to feed them 5 at-a-time with an extra-thick black rubber glove - its worth a try. Or call a vet to see if they have some kind of gizmo, maybe more durable, for mass nursing.

We have our second batch of piglets. I am happy to report that after 4 days, piglets and sow are doing fine. Can't explain spots on piglets. They should all have been black and white, like an oreo cookie.

That's the wonder of livestock, they always manage to surprise. With the spots they look like one of the older breeds, perhaps the colour will change as they mature.

Oh they are so cute, all polka-dotted! I love naming things. How many in the litter Caro?
Drip, Dot, Spot, Speck, Spit, Splat, Splash, Stain, ,,,

Good names, but we don't really name the pigs. Anything that's going into the freezer can't have a name....except the calf, Hamburger.

Wellll I can understand that Caro! Do the bovines have some 'buns in the oven' too?
Oooooh that sounds just how Terry would ask if the cows are preggers.
Or does the oven phrase also mean 'in the club' over there too? I get confused as to what is what where sometimes.

Yes, 2 of the bovines are pregnant. Hamburger may be getting a reprieve, which I know Terry will be glad to hear. My husband is so impressed with Hamburger's growth and stature, that he is trying to talk me into letting Hamburger remain "totally male"...if you catch my drift...and breeding him next year with the 2 heifers that are about the same age as he. I look at this whole thing differently. I look at Hamburger's growth and stature, and think, "Man, we are going to have a lot of beef in the freezer!"

My morning post disappeared!!!
So here it is again...
Up the duff is a local term for being in the family way, Maggie, but I would think the modern American term would be "semen challanged", or is that the wording for not pregnant? ( perhaps I was censored this morning).
I have no problem with farming animals for food, Carolyn, as long as they don't suffer in the process, and I'm sure yours receive the best of care. I am no vegetarian, like the idea, but the meat tastes too good.
You could feed a family of five off the slug I saw this morning (That's the tenuous gardening link).

I didn't do it. In fact, that has happened to Caro and myself before and I didn't do it then either! But I did go to your site looking for the monster slug in the new July pages. Is it there? or can we see it here?

Caro, I was watching a Ballykissangle episode the other day, where an 'oreo' (Hampshire?) pig delivered some oreos and some spotties in her litter too.
I loved what your rellie said about the polka dot piglets ...
'Call Gateway Computer Co. - they may need a new mascot' !!!

Happy Birthday
Carolyn!

J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAROLYN
Have a GREAT day

J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J

Hope someone spoils you today! If not, do it for yourself!

Happy Birthday, Carolyn!

Thanx Everyone! It really was a nice day. Spouse took day off from work. Spent the day in FW. I think my husband was trying to eat his way through town. Know my son was. Besides the boys eating all day, we went to see the movie "Space Cowboys." It was quite entertaining. A nice thing to do when the temp was 112 DEGREES!!!

Well you certainly picked a cool day for that tour of Cowtown??? I meet a couple tonite from down your way...I believe you and her have an interest in chickens together??? Any way I am glad you had a wonderful DAY!!!!!!!

Yep, Larry's thermo read 111 up here yesterday too Caro. But there is a hazy cloud cover this morning to dim todays flames - if only they could, in our wildest dreams manage to leak a little! I keep on dreaming....

Hi Everyone!

Weather report: We had a cold front move in today. The high temperature was only 104!

Sorry I haven't been on the forum much the past couple of weeks. Since I can't garden in 114 deg. weather, I got back into my genealogy projects, and have been quite involved with that. I had a major breakthrough last week that was so exciting my feet still haven't touched the ground.

So, that's what I've been working on. Please don't forget me.

Well, now you have us intrigued! What's the major breakthrough?!?

I know, I know,,, tell um Caro!

Its not anything that would be exciting to anyone but the people involved. I located a line of the family that moved to California in the 1920's and had not been heard from since 1931. My grandmother had tried to find them for 30 years before her death. A cousin who is also researching this line has tried to find them for 25 years. I found them, and actually spoke to the grandson of the man who went to CA last week. The funny thing is that he knows nothing about his grandfather, and had never even seen a picture of him. I was able to send him not only photos, but a beautiful letter his grandfather wrote when he belatedly found out that his father had died. Like I said, probably not interesting to many people. But....very exciting for me.

That was so special of you to do that Carolyn...I know that it will give him and his family a wonderful and fuzzy feeling, to find out the new info on there family. Thanks to you and your efforts you have helped this family so much...Your the BEST!!!!!!

Thanx David. That's sweet.

Good one Carolyn....

Carolyn, I know how excited you must be about your new found relatives. My husband does the research also. He found some lost relative this past year. Because of this, his father has been reunited with his only surviving brother as well as cousins, etc.

That "is" exciting! How wonderful for his father. People who have never gotten into genealogy don't realize how interesting "and" addictive genealogy research is. With the help of the internet, it is something you can work on anytime of the day or night.

Well, as some of you knew, this was to be butchering day for the turkeys. Husband and son loaded them up this morning, and I drove to the butcher. I was really sad all the way, thinking about the last 6 months of raising the little (now big) guys. I was reminiscing about when they were little in the tractor and the way they would jump up and down like they had springs on the bottom of their feet. Also in mind was they way they will follow me anywhere. I was really sad.

Before I had even gotten out of the truck, the butcher was running out to the truck. It seems the other grower that I was to process the turkeys with had a heart attack over the weekend, and the butcher didn't have my phone number to postpone the processing.

So, the turkeys got a reprieve. They are now running around in their pasture, telling all the other turkeys about their "road trip" this morning. I heard one of them say, "Man, we were really worried, but I guess Mom just wanted to take us on a little ride this morning."

Problem is Carolyn, now you've got to go through that pain barrier again.

I think that "dry run" to the processor helped me work through the sad part. The poor turkeys, however, next time they get in the truck, will just think, "Oh, another road trip."

How am I ever going to cook one now?
I know - I'll go into De Nile

Honestly Maggie, that was just sooooo bad I think that Carolyn should take you along with the turkeys!

Just for a little foul pun?

Definitely a foul pun

I haven't checked my "Moon Book" but something strange is going on. The poultry and animals are all WILD!!! It has been an on-going battle the past few days to keep the turkeys, piglets, and chickens out of the yard. I'm about to move some really ouchy yucca along side the main gate to keep the poultry and piggies from coming into the yard beneath the fence.

We are also experiencing a cricket and ant invasion of amazing proportions. Last night, I discovered an ant trail coming in under the office door leading to a dead cricket that one of the kitties must have played with to death. I got the dust buster and picked up the ants with that. Naturally, I went outside to dump it out, only to discover the *#*# piglets in one of the flower beds! I turned on the dust buster, which scared them and the dust buster and I chased them out of the yard. Thank God we have no close neighbors.

Apparently, our brief rains have caused the ants to come to the surface. I was so smug about not having much of an ant problem this summer. They must have been 30' down in the ground. There is a fire-ant hill about every 3 feet right now. Its pretty treacherous walking and you surely don't want to stand still. We all have fire-ant bite blisters on our feet, ankles, hands. I don't know where the crickets are coming from, but you can't open a door without several hopping in. If they come in under a door, they have to go through the DE I have sprinkled outside, and then they die. I just have to pick them up before the ants find them, or I have a double problem.

Thank you all for responding on the rose question, and I'll get to that when I have more time. Its about time for me to patrol for turkey/piglet/chicken invasion. Robert's so exhausted from helping his dad install yard lights in the heat (83 deg) and humidity (45%), along with chasing animals, that he's crashed for a nap.

I'm wondering what DE stands for, Carolyn, is it some animal safe insecticide?

Terry, DE stands for diatomaceous earth. Here is what Howard Garrett's book, "Texas Organic Gardening" says about it:

"Diatomaceous earth is approximately 5% aluminum, 5% sodium and 86% silicon. It is the skeletal remains of microscopic organisms (one-celled aquatic plants) that lived in seawater or freshwater lakes millions of years ago in the western United States. The broken skeletons have razor sharp edges that scratch the exoskeleton of insects causing them to desiccate and die."

I put a thin trail of it at the doorways and windows to kill crickets, roaches, pill bugs, anything that walks through it. I don't know if it actually kills the ants since their legs are pretty long which might keep their bodies out of the DE, but putting it around the animals' feed bowls prevents the ants from getting into it. I also mix DE in with my animals' feed. It is supposed to be good at preventing worms in the animals, and provide trace minerals. I couldn't say absolutely that it does so, but dogs, cats, cattle,...well all the animals....seem okay with it. I think it also helps to kill the moths that sometimes are in the grain bags.

I understand that dairies use it in the feed to kill the fly larvae in the manure. That's probably the main reason I feed it to the larger animals. Between the poultry picking through the manure for the fly larvae and the DE, we don't have as much of a fly problem as others do.

I buy it in 50 pound bags at the feed store.

Carolyn, Your info about diatomaceous earth is quite interesting. Some people use it to kill slugs in the Pacific NW, but there have been articles in the local papers hinting that it's hazardous (to humans). Some writers suggest wearing a breathing mask when spreading it around.

It's nice to have a different perspective.

Yes, DE should never be breathed in, it will effect your LUNGS.....Other than that small problem it is great stuff just like Caro said....Of course the size of your slugs Susan, in the NW you might want to rope them.....I have heard, how large they get!!

OK. Wear a mask if it makes you feel better. Oh, and be sure to buy the feed grade DE and not the stuff for the swimming pool. I have absolutely no idea what the difference is, but Howard Garrett says there is one. Maybe if you use the wrong one its hazardous, but we've been using DE for years for all sorts of things.

Thank you for the info., I have heard of diatomaceous earth, but never really knew what it was or all the uses for it. It does sound like a good slug stopper.

Terry, I don't know if you are troubled with mites on your birds, but I have heard of people keeping a dusting box of DE for their chickens to take a dust bath in. Supposedly, it dices, slices and julienne's the mites. I've never tried it. Can't imagine my chickens choosing a box of dust over acres and acres of the real thing. J

I only use it for a temporary problem area or a single plant rather than spread it around liberally which would kill too many good critters. It works well on soft bodied insects for me. Sometimes the lady bug larva can't keep up with the day lily thrip explosion in springtime and I go mad trying to decide what to do,, to DE or not to!
Maybe it is not so popular in UK because it is thought to be ineffective when wet. :-)
But if that is so, how does it work on parasites inside of animal guts?

Maggie that is the golden question?????

Well, the golden answer HERE is - it dunna work. Yes,, I did it all the ways and places they say to, for at least a year - it didn't work in this yard on these dogs in this house. And a lot of Marshal Grain customers had same neg results as me. Sulfer on my alkaline lawn seemed to repel fleas tho.

Have you tried it for your Seattle-sized slugs Susan?

Maggie, what are you referring to? Fleas?

Yep, and the other yucky parasite that the fleas give pets.

I haven't tried DE on slugs. I wasn't convinced that it would kill slugs, and the fine print on the package scared me away. Our unusually dry summer gave the slugs a bit of a setback this year.

Remember the tiny piggies? Here's how big they are these days.

Thanks Carolyn, I knew you had interesting things to take pictures of. I love to see the background scenery too - it's definitely different than my mountains. My sheep would sure love to have that pasture. They're ready for that hay when I put it out now. The pigs (and chicken) look like they like the pasture too and look so healthy.

What we can't see in the picture is Carolyn holding the chicken around the neck with one hand and with an axe in the other. J
The pigs look great and it is good to see them with all that space to roam and with thier tails intact.

All my animals free-range. Almost all are put away as securely as possible for the night. The piglets, however, can't seem to be confined, so they roam all over the place at all hours. I'm hoping that at night they are so tired from roaming all day, that they bed down with their moms in the barn. All the poultry, however, is herded into their mobile pens in the evening. The dog is put into a kennel. The cows are in a pasture secured with barbed wire and hot wire (electric fence). The donkeys patrol the outer fields. The waterfowl stay pretty much in a small pasture that is fenced on all but the water side. That's about the best I can do for them. They all do seem pretty healthy. They certainly get enough exercise and fresh feed.

Do you have preditors? This year we've seen a coyote go right past the house in mid afternoon. Just the day before, Kristy kicked the barn and knocked a board out. Couldn't figure out why, until we saw the coyote the next day. Now we're hearing foxes barking up top and we've been chasing a hawk away that seems to be taking up residence down by the woods. We lock everyone up at night too. Takes time doesn't it - then they all have to have fresh water and possibly some feed. We're starting to feed ours 2 x a day now that it's getting cold.

The coyotes have been really close to the house lately at night. Night before last it sounded like they were just outside the window. I ran out, but they must have been just over the hill. The dog was going nuts. We also have owls and hawks that will pick off the poultry, but the dog usually scares them away. Once last summer, the hatch on the mobile coop was accidentally left open overnight and we lost 3 chickens. Knowing the coyotes are so close, I worry about the piglets and the poultry, but there's really nothing I can do about it. If we are away during the day, I put the poultry and dog up before we leave, but the piggies are on their own. So far; so good. Feeding twice a day sounds awful, MK. My condolences. I'm going to take a pic tomorrow of my obese calf. She is so fat that she looks like 4 toothpicks stuck in a barrel. When she tries to run, its just hilarious. I guess all she does is eat.

OK Carolyn, that’s a good description of how you corral the animals at night……but where do you put Neal?

Nicola's back, without missing a beat :-0

Oh Nicola! That's a no-brainer. The typical American male goes to his recliner and watches tv.