The Poppy Life

Poppy the barn cat resting on a feather duvet and fur pillows on a handmade rocker.

Just looks so nice I need to try this sometime.

Home on the Range

My baby ducklings are now outside full time. My house is duck free until another hen gets broody again. Ten of these can stink up a brooder box fast. This time we have left them outside instead of the coop. At night they have a large crate to sleep in that locks and my dog to keep out predators. They will stay in the nursery yard a bit longer. They will soon be big enough to go into the coop and join the flock. They share their yard with our indoor adult bunny during the day. 

Food, mint, straw and pool make ducklings very happy.

Rouens and a couple of Cayuga all home grown.

Hippitus Hoppitus

This week my dog brought me this tasty rabbit nugget. I get these rabbits babies once in a while from my barn cat and in worse shape. I told my dog to drop it and I looked it over, it was unharmed. I looked all over for the nest and old warrens but no sign of a doe nor nest. So with slim chances I brought it in and hit the web for info about care and feeding. After some trial and errors we got him to eat. I still give it low chances, but so far so good. KMR, probiotic and a heating pad and quiet room/cage are working well for this wild creature. Oh and they can jump far and fast so we keep it on the ground for all feedings. He will be set free once he is eating greens and off the KMR. Wild rabbits are very different from domesticated ones. Luckily, we have a lot of experience raising rabbits and we have the time to care for it.

This is a monster mega Rouen duck egg. These ducks lay big eggs but this is a really big one.

Here is the egg in a jumbo carton with jumbo chicken eggs. I can't even get the egg partition to close in the fridge.

10 little Indians

About a week ago a single duckling hatched under a hen. She ignored it and after 2 days I brought it inside. A week later two more hatched and they moved inside the brooder box.

They were doing great inside learning how to used the water bottle and eat.

But then I went into the coop and found 3 dead ducklings killed by a hen. 

I saved the rest and they are now inside the brooder with the older ones. 

Orphan No More

Last week a single duckling was hatched. After 2 days the mama did not get off the nest. The duckling was dehydrated and weak. I brought it inside to get better. Meanwhile, 4 other ducklings were killed by a chicken. 

So after waiting  a week another duckling hatched and I heard its cries. The mama duck left the nest and the duckling was cold. After tucking it in my pocket for warmth, he is now a companion to the orphan. Hoping the rest of the clutch will hatch with mama duck. She is a first time mama duck and new to raising her brood.

Melon Twin

This is Melon and his stuffed doppelganger. 

Nothing as soft as a feather duvet and a flannel cover.

Attack Rooster

This is a rooster I was given along with 5 more from a "I do not want roosters hurting my hens" type of farm. I told the giver their roosters would become roasters, they were fine with that. But I kept one of the lot for possible breeding. That was a mistake as I found out this rooster was hand raised and had no fear of people.

After about 3 months this rooster had no covered hens and was attacking us all the time. That is a death sentence on our farm, but our freezer was full. So I took him to auction instead.

I put a sign on his cage that he was mean. He sold for $2 and was for sale again the following month by that same buyer.  I am glad my own roosters fear me. They have a job to be with their hens and watch over them. I have learned that it is best to kill off a mean rooster. You do not want that aggression to be passed into flock. And you do not want the animal to end up potentially harming someone.

Oh Mr Finch

Mr. Finch is a gifted textile artist. Who does not love a giant fuzzy bumblebee?

You can go to his website:  

The photos take my breath away.

New Year Overload

Wow, I have been too busy to do anything productive. Life on the farm is great, but fences always need doing. We have had a mild winter until this week. Snow falls and the cold returns. My hens are broody and trying to hatch. One lone chick hatched in the freezing coop, so it is now inside my house. Have been so busy planning the garden, doing church stuff and visiting friends. My endeavor into sales finding it lacking and was not my forte. Back to what I love, creating and sewing. Now to rearrange my craft room back into the sewing and tack room it was before. New fabrics, new sewing machine and new friends who sew. And my Melon always in the middle of everything.

Hello Hayao Miyazaki

Hayao Miyazaki makes movies that kick Disney in the butt. For shear beauty, storytelling and adventure; his movies are a feast for the eyes, ears and heart.

My Neighbor Totoro is one of my all time favorites. I want a cat bus to take me somewhere.

           Just captivating gardens and scenery. Places I have never been but always want to return to.

My dream garden.

Spirited Away is very imaginative with a great lesson.

Howl's Moving Castle, just something for everyone.

Again, Totoro. Thank you Hayao Miyazaki for sharing your beauty and vision with everyone of all ages, races and cultures.

Lights On, Lights Off

Here is our farm for the holidays. It is now all taken down and put away until next Christmas. It was an all day chore, but my husband helped 'git 'er done. This was a cold night with rain and wind across our duck pond at night. The blue and white LED lights are so bright in the crisp night. The LED lights do not get hot and use less electricity. I also added a small bunch of solar LED lights to our mailbox as a try out. They worked except when the headlights hit them, they go out, but come back on instantly and stay on for 8 hours. Will have to add more of them where we have no outlets.

New Year Stuff

This is a boot holder a friend made me for Christmas. It was perfect timing and we have lots of chore and cowboy boots by the back door. I even like the color of the primer.

Now our boots can get dry and warm by the wood stove. And we can turn them upside down of they need to drain. Best gift ever!

Daisy and Melon taking in the wood heat on top of horse blankets.

Little bird hit our window and needed to warm up safely. Was set free to join the wild flock again.

The Big Blue

After many interruptions, chores, obligations, visitations and farm life, I finally got this quilt done. It will be given to its new owner soon.

She picked this pattern from an older McCall's Quilting magazine, with changes to the color, pattern and border.

First manipulation of the blue blocks and border ideas.

Stars fabric was not liked and was removed then not used. In the end I was very happy with the final selection from the client.