Oh the possumbilities!

This morning I headed out early to get farm feed for the poultry before the storms come again. I saw in the dirt road a dead possum had been hit. As I drove around the dead possum I had a feeling to go back. So I back up and parked and went to at least move the body off the road way. What I thought was possum guts were actually joeys still alive all over mom and the dirt road. I went back to my truck and got a box, towels and put my flashers on. 

Mom was cold, stiff and dead but the joeys were making noise and moving about. I put some in my carry all as another driver stopped to lend a hand. I put my hand inside the dead possum pouch and found several more joeys. I got about ten live ones and three dead ones. I put the living ones in the box along with a towel and hand warmers. I moved the dead ones off  to the side of the road and talked to the other driver. But I knew what needed to be done. I took them to a person who knows more about how to care for these things.

After a chat, I had a list of items I needed to get for feeding/caring for them. I am already set up for emergency newborn kitten care. It will be a challenge as some were hurt in the accident. But I will help where I can. The nice thing is they will be returned to the wild when they are old enough.

Duck Training

You can train your ducks and your turkey to go into the coop. It takes a week for turkey and three days for a duck. Here are my turkey keeping me company. Each night for three nights I scare or pick up the young ducks and put them on the ramp and push them into the lit coop by nightfall.. I make noise to scare them out of the pond and march them to the coop anytime of the year winter or summer until they get it. Three days and they got it. Coop good, dark outside bad. It helps to have a second person to corral the young ones.

Ducks are very smart and they like comfort. If you have a clean coop floor with lots of ventilation, room to spread out and safety, your ducks will learn the coop is where to go at night. I have a light on a timer just for their safe home feeling. I put shaving on the coop floor. Soiled shavings are turned into compost and tree mulch. Clean coop bedding also means no foot issues.

This is our ramp on the left and dog door. The hens are on the sliding door because that is how they roll. The human door is on the right. Ducks learn how to walk the ramp and exit the coop. An iced ramp is their only issue in winter.

 Ducks get along with chickens but they do not roost. The sit on the coop floor and nest together. So having a clean coop means clean ducks and clean eggs. Ducks lay on the floor or in low nest boxes. Some of my ducks fly up into the hen boxes to lay.

Raising baby ducklings is easier than other poultry. We raise ducklings indoors so they like us know our voice. And this also means lots more house cleaning with ducklings.

Once a day tub time so I can clean their brooder box.

Ducks get along with other ducks. They are having a duck-scusion. Chickens don't. Female ducks will foster and teach teen ducklings- chickens don't.

Any age ducks are cool with other ducks. Not so with chickens. Ducks are laid back and relaxed foragers on our farm. They are easy to train and long lived productive poultry. Ducks are also great at keeping ponds clear of weeds. No chemicals needed, ducks do all the hard work. And our fish population is great. Duck poop in the pond feeds the fish. 

Organizing Chaos and Rain

Along with sewing, restoration, leather work, farming and chores I am organizing my studio, slowly. I have so many materials I use in restoration I needed to get things to hold it all. Mobile things with lots of drawers. Sewing needles, feet, leather tools, punches, embroidery discs, antique sewing items, lace, threads and so much more. My drawers are mobile so I can move them to get foster kittens, toys and things rearranged for farm emergencies in the walk out basement, aka- my studio. Since we no longer ride our equines, I got all the tack out of my office. Tons of room now filled with mobile work stations.

It has been very rainy in the Ozarks this summer.

So that is why we now have mostly ducks. Ducks love the rain and bugs.I have culled most of my chickens. But my hens still found the time to hatch out 14 baby chicks! Ugh! I just sold one hen and 13 chicks last week. I sold off 2 roosters to the auction house as well. This leaves my old roo and his son along with a half blind game hen and about 6 old hens and 14 baby chicks. Nature finds a way to fill a vacuum. But my ducks are hardier and long lived. They lay most of the year and are very winder hardy. They never stop feeding and foraging. Their eggs are larger and better than chickens. It's easier to raise the baby ducklings. The downside for us - they are not broody. My flock will not set on a nest. I set the eggs under a hen to hatch and I raise the ducklings indoors, then foster duck them.

Our pond is full!

Culinary herbs within reach from the kitchen. Love summer and herbs.

Orphan Filly

Last week a filly was born and 4 days later her mother died. The owner let a full sized horse stallion run with a pony and the large foals birth killed the pony mare a few days later. The owner did not know about it for two days as he has health issues. So calls were made and my friend, a seasoned horse woman, took on the challenge. She has the experience, time and stalls for this tiny filly.

Calf manna powder in warm water 1 cup every 2 hours for the first week day and night. The filly was very skinny but clean and moving around well. This is a mini horse sized halter, the smallest we had. It on for the photos only. The halter stays off when the filly is not with us.

First day on the farm.

Showing me how to feed the filly without a bottle.

Still looking for its mama.

Second week learning manners. Second week feedings are cup and a half of manna every 2.5 hours.

And licking fingers for more milk. Very soft coat and feisty disposition. We will not name it as it does not belong to us. The goal is to get baby to weaning age and back to the owner.

Antique Gas Stove

I love cooking with gas stoves. But hate the way modern ones are so poorly built for cleaning. I love old stoves and know several locals that still use gas or wood stoves like this one. 

It is in mint condition only too short for me. If you are looking for one like this got to Freakin' Antiquin' in Springfield, Missouri and ask about the stove by the restrooms that is for sale,

The enamel inside is like it has never been used. No dents, no rust no missing parts. I hope to have one like this one day.

Cat Bite

As a person who works with cats, fosters cats, rescues cats and has cats -this was a humbling day. We visited a friends farm to fix a computer. Her white barn cat came running out to greet us and get pet/attention. It was very affectionate and kind of a bully. When my friend  asked how to go about clipping her claws - I showed her and got a bit for my troubles.

Thankfully it  is UTD on its rabies and I let my hand bleed out after I let it go. Yes, it hurt- a lot. I washed with soap and water several times and checked for any foreign bits in my hand. I bandaged it and then finished the rest of our visit. I came home and drew the circles around the teeth marks to track swelling and possible infection. You can have serious problems with cat bites. I am also UTD on my tetanus after a broken nose moving cattle one day. Yes, it hurts after 3 days but nothing is swelling  up and nothing is broken. I will be more cautious with strange cats in the future.

Fantastic Caverns

Here in Missouri there are a lot of caves. One of the oldest is in Springfield, Fantastic Caverns. This photo is the fire/coal driven generator for lights in the cave used originally after candle light. Today it is all electric lights.

It is big but very low ceilings. You will have to duck a few times as you are driven around the cave. No bats, just propane powered jeeps pulling carriages under the ground. There are about 4 of these running during the summer season. It is not a long a ride as I had hoped. But it was fun.

Very old cave formation and no bats.

The visitors were all from all over the map. But this was our first time.If you like caves this was pretty neat.

Antique Ironing Stool Restoration begins

I saw this at a yard sale at a friends farm and no one wanted it. I have never seen nor used one but wow do I need one. Modern ironing boards are tall, heavy, rickety and take up a lot of space. This well used by a single family for generations was what I have been looking for. 

It is the right height for my short frame, heavy duty ironing table converts to a stool in short order. This means I can use it then have a table or stool nearby.The leg had be replaced well at some point to continue it usefulness. However there are many coats of oil based paint on this stool. And the original padding is dry rotted. Restoration begins while the weather is good.

Tools of the restoration

The original turquoise blue paint under the white.

Slipped in layers of muslin and padding

Yes, that is horsehair under there.

 After diving into the stool the paint removal will be a long chore. I need to take it apart and stripping will go faster. So I have to stop and work on caging extra roosters and planting my tomatoes. Rain is called for soon and the garden waits for no one.

Just Ducky

So after 2 weeks I was able to locate some other ducklings for my single hatchling. After lots of inquires and texting I was able to go to a poultry farm to pick out 3 week old ducklings. It was a very Ozark kind of farm. No house in the deep woods, no road, just a shack with electricity, AC and running water and cages everywhere. The cages were up off the ground and huge, packed with poultry of different ages and breeds. The birds were in ok condition but the floors of the pens and cages were a foot deep in poop. This causes ammonia burns on their feet. I only needed two but I picked a third that was in a bad way- deformed legs. I got two Chinese Crested and a malformed Pekin.

I got them home and put them in the tub with soap and water. I bathed them 3 times until the water was no longer brown. They were covered in feces and ammonia. I treated them to clean indoor cage with heat lamp and clean dry shavings. After a week of this it was time to put them outside with a foster mama duck. They are doing well with a pool instead of my tub and learning to be ducks. They are thriving in the sunlight, food and TLC. Our farm animals get pampered at our place. I will post more photos when I can. It is haying and planting season and time is in short supply.

Rocking Out

Two weeks ago we attended a friends estate auction. Among her late fathers possessions was a heavy box of polishes stones. It had everything, books, stones and jewelry settings.

So for a fair price I got the whole box sight unseen. It was heavy and the auction was moving at a fast pace. So I put it in the truck and forgot about it until today. There is way too much for me to ever use. So I am rock swapping with another rock hound.

I really like the half polished matte rocks. I had no idea this friends father was into rocks. It was a pleasant thing to find out about him and to share.