The FrankenChickens are huge, they went through the 500 lbs of food so I popped over to Fowler yesterday for another 200 lbs. Made Joan laugh when she saw my little car. I backed up to the dock which was higher than the car :). Manda is due to come over on Friday to help process them. Looking forward to farm grown chicken in the freezer, but somehow don't think we're going to get through all 30 or so, and if the weather is like today, think I'm postponing doing it !
Gave all the beasties some corn tonight as it's warming. Maddie hung around the lounge windows for ages after her evening bottle and some grapes. She followed me to feed the sheep, was waiting for me after I fed the FrankenChickens, was in and out the garage, eating the dog food, I had to caution Rosco after he growled and lunged at her when she got too close to the dry dog food. The other day I watched her knocking both Anni and Lisa with her front leg, so that they kept moving away from her. Had to shoo her away so that they could eat their canned breakfast.
On Friday, Jackie came with to visit Salle. Funny, for once she was late - it's usually me running late :). Salle started a fire of some scrap she wanted to burn, and we all grilled sausages on sticks that she picked and started, and Jackie finished, whittling. I took a can of caramel and Salle cut some apples for dessert.
Last night I met Jackie at the Depot in the village, and we walked for an hour down the trail and back next to the river. Herbie wasn't home from work yet when I left just before 6pm, I'd done the first frying of some chips, and had seasoned and fried the fish. He said he did the 2nd cooking of the chips in the microwave, I thought he'd do it in the chicken fryer I use to do it. Tonight it was leftovers, but I did cut more potatoes and do an additional batch of chips - which he finished as seconds.
Remembered to take the Colloidal Silver today for the first time, still trying to get over being sick. The past 2 nights I've been glugging NyQuil again to get some more sleep and wearing the breathe rite strips is part of my daily routine. Maybe I should mix an oil blend for me. Did one for Herbie last night, and Eric came over the other day with what he called 'trigger finger' looking for a new essential oil blend. My last one for him healed his carpal tunnel wrist injury. Seemingly I'm becoming known for my concoctions. That's a good thing, methinks :)
Nearly finished getting the fencing around the hayfield clear of the undergrowth and fixed where the deer have torn it off the posts, and even stopped at Family Home & Farm on my way back from Fowler yesterday to get some more plastic, push-in posts to put a temporary division down the middle to keep the Scottish Highlands and Jerseys segregated. Tried to put Seasaidh and Saffron in with the other Highlands yesterday, but Saffron wouldn't follow her mum. She sees me and runs away in the opposite direction. Bloody cow - she's not a month old and already being impossible. Both bulls were in a tither when she entered, and chased her around the hay bale feeder until I called her back out after not being able to get Saffron in with her. I don't encourage the calves to hop under the electric fencing.
I seem to have the evening cow parade pretty sorted. I get Daisy May and Eleanor to go into the lower barn enclosure, pour some corn on the ground for them. Then lead Dolly, with Taxes en-tow, with the bucket into the chicken yard where I pour some into the feeder. Then wade through the mud to go around the other calves and shoo them up. For the last few nights, Seasaidh has been in the yard with Dolly and the calves, and I've had to round up Saffron and chase her in too. When Jackie and I returned from visiting with Salle on Friday, it was already dark and the cows were all in the chicken yard. I enticed Daisy May and Eleanor back out, and shut the gate, then at 5:30am the next morning, had to go out in the dark to open the gate as Saffron wasn't in with her mum, and Seasaidh was calling her, loudly and consistently. So now I double check.
Eventually got Mike to round bale the hay on Monday. He did the larger bales, think they're 5x5, and we only got 6½ of them. Disappointing, especially after the 17 from the 2nd cutting, but probably not surprising. Herbie cut it higher than it used to ride with the bar, then it was out there for 2 weeks and was rained on, and re-dried, I'd given some to the cows over the fence, and of course, the deer probably had a party too. I was fixing fences with the buggy, Herbie was raking with the little tractor and Mike was baling half a field behind him with his big tractor and the baler. I gave one to the Scottish Highlands that evening, and the weight was lifting the front wheels of the little tractor off the ground. Was tricky driving, and I did it slowly. Wouldn't do to hurt myself again.