Life at Busy Solitude Farm

We will rejoice and be glad in it.

2012-02-11T12:51:00.000-05:00

Heavy lake effect snow began overnight, and continues. As I observed the birds enjoying sunflower seeds from the feeder, John Rutter's composition "This is the Day Which the Lord Hath Made," which he wrote for the marriage of Prince William to Catherine Middleton, played in the background. And I thought to myself, I will rejoice and be glad in it.

Hoar frost

2012-02-05T08:14:00.000-05:00

Morning has Broken, 13

2012-01-29T10:55:00.001-05:00

Guest appearance

2012-01-28T07:54:00.000-05:00

For the past few days, Barnard has wandered up close to the house in the morning when Ulani goes out. She gives Ulani the leg rub and enthusiastic purring, but when I open the door for Ulani to come inside, Barnard runs back to the barn.

Until this morning!

This morning when I opened the door Ulani hung back and Ms. Barnard trotted right up the steps and into the house, pretty as you please! Ulani, puzzled, needed to be reminded to come in herself.

Once inside, Barn' stood by the door and peered into the vast expanse which is the living room, feeling the warm, heated air caress her back. Her toes relaxed into the dry, warm, woven cotton rug while she breathed deeply the smell of "no chickens in here"!

Then Luke came on the scene. Paradise lost.

Luke hissed. Barnard smacked him. They took opposite corners of the dining table and hunkered down. This was too much action for Ulani, who quickly entered to restore order and respect. Or maybe she just told them to hold on a minute until she got her bet placed.

When I once again opened the back door, Barnard made like a banana and split for her home turf.

But I hope she'll be back!

Shhhh! She's sleeping!

2012-01-23T08:51:00.002-05:00

Birthday kisses!

2012-01-19T07:33:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's my birthday and I am not shy about it. My close friends know I love to celebrate another year's passing and if it means stretching out the birthday visits over weeks, that's all good.

Regular visitors to Life at Busy Solitude Farm know I try to celebrate here, too. Just last year every member of the BSF gang was featured. And in 2010, Oskar and Ulani brought me a special present. 2009 had a revealing post! I guess in 2008 I wasn't yet really mentioning myself much in my posts, but I always liked this post, so let's call it my 2008 birthday post!

Of course birthdays do bring some reflection, and I think all of you know that so many of the BSF friends seen in these past posts are no longer with us. So a moment of reflection on their happy lives here, and how much they meant to me.

--

And now, the 2012 celebrating gets under way! I hope that each and every reader will take a moment today to think about all of the great things we have in our lives -- friends, health, laughter. Do that, and it will the best gift I could imagine.

The Squirrel is Grounded

2012-01-18T17:45:00.002-05:00

The jig is up. I ruined it. No more backyard fun.

Not until the wind blows the flying squirrel down!

Morning has broken, 12

2012-01-15T07:55:00.003-05:00

Seven degrees Fahrenheit.

Pet portrait

2012-01-13T07:00:00.000-05:00

I want to share with you this painting of Oskar and Ulani by Josephine Aurora Burck. Also known as Josie, this brilliant artist works from photographs, capturing the essence of a pet's spirit with her brush strokes on canvas.

Did I also mention that Josie is Farm Girl Beth's youngest daughter? Or that she is eleven years old?

Josie, like many young women her age, has gone a bit horse crazy. And in order to lease a horse for the summer, she needs to generate some income. Luckily for her, she has great talent!

I love how Josie captured the light on Oskar and Ulani's hair with just a few bold strokes, adding a lively tan across Ulani's muzzle for texture and depth. The delicate gray hairs around Oskar's nose, and the dark shadow where his fall covers his eyes.

And how about the beautiful light periwinkle of the background? What a choice!

I've been missing Oskar, but having this portrait in my living room helps me to remember him and keep him near. Thanks for the good work, Josie!

Note, Josie wrote a post about her technique for the Briard hair -- check it out!

The Wolf Moon

2012-01-11T07:00:00.000-05:00

The Wolf Moon Brings...

2012-01-10T07:26:00.001-05:00

The Wolf Moon of January has been particularly brilliant the past few days. I've been catching it on the descent when I go to the barn in the morning.

Today I stood closer to the back fence to try a different angle. And in the silence of the dark morning I heard something move in the brush.

This is the unretouched photo I took aimed at the burn pile. Can't tell much from that! So I hit the "enhance" button, and more detail was revealed.

Now I've got something to work with. So I started to look around the photo. You can see the pile of brush waiting to be burned on the left-hand side. And the first clear tree trunk just left of center. Is that something on the lens, floating above the pile?

That's no speck! That looks like a pair of glowing eyes!!!

My guess is possum, though I'm open to other interpretations. I love my new camera!

How do you like the snow?

2012-01-02T13:08:00.002-05:00

2012

2012-01-01T12:57:00.002-05:00

A very windy day with falling temperatures, in advance of the threat of lake effect snow.

But we're bundled up warm inside. A pot of red beans is on the stove; later on I'll make rice. Ulani, Luke and I are safe and sound. Barnard came over to the door earlier to say hello. I expect she's sleeping in her bed of straw in the dog crate, the coos and clucks of the birds her own lullaby.

And so a new year begins at Busy Solitude Farm.

Happy new year!

Gingerbread army

2011-12-25T09:44:00.003-05:00

My kitchen has been taken over by these fresh little men!

(OK, maybe I feel just a little Christmas spirit coming on. We'll see what happens! Merry Christmas to you!)

Angels

2011-12-23T07:00:00.000-05:00

Long ago and far away, I believed in Santa Claus. My mother, who also made those kicky curtains you can see behind her left shoulder, told me all about him. To be fair, she also told me about Jesus, who slept perpetually in the tiny manger of the creche you see over my right shoulder.

Come to think of it, none of what my mother told me about Christmas turned out to be true. But that's another story.

When my older sister and I were wee ones, my parents longed for an opportunity to sleep in on a Sunday. So my mother would set out craft projects on the coffee table before she went to bed on Saturday, and then we would keep ourselves busy creating until Mom and Dad got up on Sunday.

The project I remember better than any was the clothespin angels. It was so simple: glue together a red triangle for the dress, a pink circle on the front of one point as the face, a half paper doily on the back for wings, and a silver or gold circle behind the pink circle for the halo. I don't remember what we did for hair, but we always had yarn and pipe cleaners around.

The magic of the craft came in the decorating. Glitter. Sequins. Crayons, colored pencils, markers. Our house was craft supply heaven, and our imaginations knew no limits. Mom had assembled one sample. The rest was up to us.

Do angels have buttons? Ours did. Or do they wear stripes or plaid? Maybe one angel's dress had a scalloped hem, accentuated with a piece of rick-rack. Our angels smiled. Or had round, singing mouths. Some sported rouge.

Once the glue dried, each angel was stuck to a clothespin and attached to the tree. As the days of Christmas wore on in the dry heat of the early '60s, the glue would crack and pieces of the angels fell to the floor. Only a few angels endured the season to be packed up with the heartier ornaments and brought out again the next year.

But we remembered how to make them, year after year. Later, in my adult life, I took Polaroid photos of all of my colleagues, cut their heads out and created clothespin angels with their faces. It was a spectacular tree. Even Oskar was on that tree.

But my best clothespin angel memories come from that first year, working quietly next to my sister while Mom and Dad slept in.

Winter Solstice

2011-12-22T07:39:00.000-05:00

And now the days begin to become longer and brighter.

Holiday spirit

2011-12-17T22:03:00.000-05:00

I haven't had much Christmas spirit this season. Probably not having had much snow at all is part of it. Another part is the hens haven't been laying, so I didn't plan an eggnog party.

I did manage to put some lights on the front fence, along with a wreath.

When you look over the gate, you can see my beautiful front door wreath, too.

That's all nice, but I was still lagging on spirit. So I told Ulani "let's get in the car and see what other people are doing for Christmas lights!" Always game for a road trip, Ulani jumped right in and off we went.

Down one country road I saw a light high above a big working farm. What would that be?

A simple star mounted on the top of the tallest grain building. Such a simple representation of the season, shining bright on a clear night. I admire these tasteful displays.

We drove on. My friend Charley had featured a different sort of display on his blog, Vector Charley, and I wanted to see it myself.

Coming around a bend in a dark country road, I saw tail lights ahead. A number of them, actually, and I knew I'd found it.

It has wishes for a merry Christmas and a happy new year from the family.

It has a choir and a church.

Of course the reindeer were there...

...and a gingerbread house. In fact, it has everything

except maybe the kitchen sink. But I couldn't swear to that!

There are about two acres of lights. Honestly. I don't know if this family puts on such a show every year, or if this is something new. Maybe a reader can shed some light on that? (Ugh, sorry for the pun!)

Seeing this display took me back to my childhood, when our family would pile into the station wagon after dinner and drive around to see the lights. Dad would have scouted out some major set-ups on his way home from work, so we often went beyond our own neighborhood to see the latest and greatest. For years my favorite lights were on a huge pine tree. The family had it covered in lights, and the lights would change colors, slowly blending from green to blue to red to gold.

After driving around for an hour or so, we'd get back home and have hot chocolate with marshmallows floating in it, then go to bed and dream of all the wonders of Christmas.

Well, my spirit's not back to 100%, but I'd say it's rising! And we have something else to celebrate now -- this is the 300th post on Life at Busy Solitude Farm! 300 posts in three years! I'd never have anticipated reaching this milestone!

I hope that your Christmas spirit (no matter what your religion, you're allowed to have some) is warm and cheery this year. And my wish for all of us this holiday season is for...

Lunar Eclipse

2011-12-10T15:23:00.001-05:00

This was the view out my bedroom window at 6:00 am today. The sun wouldn't rise for another ninety minutes or so, but the shadows on the snow were intense!

The window facing the west showed the moon as bright as a sun. Can you believe how bright it is? No wonder I woke at 5:30 on a Saturday morning!

Around 7:15, the moon sank to the tree line here. But I didn't want to let it get away quite yet, because today was a big day -- a full lunar eclipse!

Ulani and I got in the car and headed out to where we'd have a better view.

We drove a few places to find the best vista.

Just as the moon's disk began to show the Earth's shadow.

And finally, just before the moon set at 8:00 am, it glowed the beautiful red associated with an eclipse, then dove behind the trees and set.

What fun it was to drive through the countryside before sunrise chasing the eclipse! I only wish we were a bit further west today, so that we could have seen the full eclipse.

Busy Solitude Barn -- 2012 Calendar

2011-11-25T11:34:00.001-05:00

The 2012 Busy Solitude Farm calendar -- "Busy Solitude Barn" -- has gone to print!

Last year a number of people asked if they could buy a copy of my calendar, so this year I have ordered a limited number of extras, now available for $20 (which includes postage).

The cover is a bit misleading as it's the only black and white photo in the calendar! Here are a few samples of the inside.

January includes my famous snow path to the barn. I'd like to think that this was a once-in-a-lifetime shot, but I rather expect that I'll be looking down that path again, and soon!

July's clouds juxtaposed against the mowing grid on the grass.

A late afternoon in September features the dried grasses near my back door.

Each month has a different view of the Busy Solitude Barn. In deference to my aging eyes, I made the dates super large this year -- you can look up from your desk and actually see what the date is without squinting!

If you enjoy the rural life, I think you would enjoy having one of these calendars on your wall.

If you would like one, you can use the button to order via PayPal (you can use a PayPal account OR a credit card) or e-mail me at busysolitudefarm@yahoo.com and I'll send you the details.

Faith at two weeks

2011-11-21T07:25:00.001-05:00

Super Mama is very protective of Faith. It's been a bit tricky to get photos!

But you can see she's got lots of feathers now. They're really more black than brown -- it's the effect of the flash. Her beak is also mostly black. It appears that Eartha Chick might be her bio-mom!

Eartha has the softest black feathers ever! She's a Black Australorp. Don't they look similar?

I am really hoping that since the appearance genetics seem to be coming from the mother (the only roosters right now are white) perhaps her sex will, too!

Have Faith!

Sunset November 16

2011-11-17T18:35:00.001-05:00

Oh ye of little faith

2011-11-06T13:51:00.002-05:00

This hen began setting a nest in mid-October. The other hens all went into their moult, so there was only one egg under her. Doubting anything could come of it with temperatures rapidly cooling down, I let her follow her hormones.

You've already guessed the end of the story!

Just this morning I was thinking "I should check my photos and see how long she's been setting." Turns out there was no need for that. This afternoon I brought the chickens all the goop from the squash I was baking. When I peeked in at Super Mama I heard some faint peeping. Honestly!

So I hurriedly got the isolation pen enclosed (I'd taken some of the wire down so that all the birds had free range through that space. I really did not expect a chick!). Brought water and a separate feeder. Added fresh straw to the box.

And then caused the hen one final injustice, when I reached under her and grabbed out her baby. Oh the uproar! The violation! The alarm! As soon as I could get a word in, I said "for goodness sake, you're going too!" and I grabbed the hen and raced her and her baby into their new suite.

Her first response was to poop and enormous, broody hen poop (they only leave the nest every couple of days, so it gets stored up).

Then in true motherly fashion, she exclaimed "well, we can dress this up in a minute and it will be a fine home. This way, baby!"

And they settled right in.

If this chick breaks my bad luck chain and turns out to be a girl, I think I'll call her Faith!

Orion Over the Barn

2011-11-04T07:36:00.000-04:00

Just before 7 this morning, Orion in all his glory over the barn. See the three little stars lined up? That's his belt. The bright star below the belt is one corner of his, uh, skirt. The bright star above the belt is one of his shoulders. Here's a map:

You can't see all the stars that make up Orion. The camera didn't capture them all, though the sky was so clear and crisp this morning that I could see them!

I hope this means that the stars are aligned for us!

Sweet dreams

2011-11-03T07:00:00.000-04:00

Nekkid girl!

2011-11-01T21:00:00.000-04:00

It's been drawn to my attention that there's been a rather big change here at Busy Solitude Farm and I failed to explain it. So here goes.

My princess, Ulani, had to be boarded for two nights a few weeks ago when I went to a conference out of town. I decided to have them groom her and give her a bath. Such luxury! Since Ulani is 8 years old and has never been professionally groomed, I told the groomer that it was not necessary for anyone to get stressed, and if it was easier, she could cut Ulani's coat. But I specifically asked her NOT to cut her "fall" (aka "bangs"). Specifically.

This was Ulani a week before boarding:

And this was the evening she came home:

Look how long her legs are! But she's "butt nekkid", as they say. And in case you can't see it here...

...they cut her bangs straight across her nose. Aargh!

I don't despair.
I've not a care.
It's just hair.

The End of the Staycation

2011-10-30T13:01:00.001-04:00

A beautiful, chilly morning here at Busy Solitude Farm. It's the final day of my weeklong staycation. Too short, no surprise. I accomplished some things on my list but the rest will just have to wait for another day.

A light frost covered this morning's yard. Can't complain when I hear about eleven inches of wet snow covering friends' trees out east. Rain is due here, but Ulani and I did get a nice walk in this morning.

And then I began creating two "pumpkin" pies for my book group meeting this evening. My favorite is made from roast butternut squash, which I did yesterday. This morning I baked crusts, adding a half cup of toasted, crushed pecans to the dough. Then I mixed up the custard and now they're baking away.

The crusts browned too quickly, so there's some foil covering parts I don't want to blacken. And the extra crust dough?

I made pie crust cookies to enjoy with a strong coffee, topped with whipped heavy cream.

That's what staycation is all about!

Autumn color

2011-10-29T08:06:00.000-04:00

The sun rose below a heavy bank of clouds.

I thought the slight pink highlights on the grain storage across the street had an interesting softening effect.

Then I experimented shooting through different trees. Which sunrise gets the nicest frame?

Evergreens make a lovely frame this time of year.

Especially when they go all black silhouette with nice color behind them.

Later in the day, coming home up my road. I love the soft, golden fields after the beans have been taken in.

Almost home.

There's the barn. And what's that?

Barnard greeting me! Welcome home!

Ulani sings. Kind of.

2011-10-27T20:17:00.000-04:00

Yes, I know. It's not nice to tease your dog. But isn't it funny?!

Black and White in the Barn

2011-10-23T12:00:00.001-04:00

Jesus the Rooster, in striking black and white.

This week I'm having a "staycation" from work. One of my goals is to do something creative every day. I've been depleted from all the work busyness this summer and really need to replenish my creative self.

So this morning, rather than taking my regular barn photos, I switched to black and white. See what you think!

Ulani was eager to see what was going on in the barn -- she kept her nose pressed right up to the door!

Barnard gave me her best side (or was she looking at her own shadow?!).

Now that it's really chilly overnight, I frequently find her basking in the early morning sun on her shelf. I'm so glad I put it up for her, and I am thinking about adding a few more shelves so she can move around higher and lower. Cats like that!

Peep's feet. She turned four about a month ago. I'm not sure what causes the bumpiness of her toes -- could it be chicken arthritis? She doesn't seem to have any problem walking around, though, so I'm not too concerned about it.

The full photo of Jesus. Come to think of it, I'm not certain this is Jesus. Jesus may have been one of the victims of the barn terrorist in June. This may just be "the white rooster". Difficult to tell.

The back side of the barn. It's a nice face that I don't often photograph.

Time to get some chores done. More BSF creativity later!

Luke Likes Autumn

2011-10-09T09:27:00.000-04:00

Luke hasn't had much play on the blog lately. In fact, the last time his photo appeared was July 10 in a Morning has Broken entry. So I thought I'd see what he was up to this morning.

I discovered him here, enjoying the flora and fauna of the septic prairie. Yes, that's him!

I think there must be mice and voles and so on making nests up there for the winter. Both Luke and Ulani have been spending more time snooping around. Ulani comes inside full of dried plant matter...

But this is Luke's entry!

We've had a week of warm, sunny days. Luke likes to go out first thing in the morning, make his rounds to see what might have gone on since bedtime. Then he comes in for breakfast, and if I allow it (which I try not to on work days!) he goes back out for the day. He'll spend time sitting on a yard chair in the sun, or finding a cool, quiet spot under an evergreen for a nap. I've even caught him visiting in the barn a couple of times -- he never did that before Barnard moved in!

Then, after he's been out for a while, he makes his way back to the house. But just to check in before he starts more wandering!

Getting to Know You

2011-10-02T11:57:00.001-04:00

Barnard and Ulani are becoming more familiar with each other. Just listen to the kitty's purr!

Meet the Middlebrook Mob!

2011-09-25T13:42:00.002-04:00

Last night the organization I work for held a benefit at Middlebrook Farm. I thought you might enjoy seeing the cows!

Look! Sharp!

2011-09-21T21:01:00.002-04:00

In which Barnard stars as David, with Ulani in a cameo as Goliath.

A new barn mystery!

2011-09-12T07:16:00.001-04:00

I've noticed that Barnard seems to always be sleeping on his chosen bed when I walk into the barn. Why doesn't that little guy go out?

I thought maybe he was going out "cattin'" all night and that's why he was exhausted during the day. So I got out the trusty hunter-cam and set it up just outside the barn door. Last night I turned it on before bedtime.

I had not been awake five minutes around 6:00 this morning when there was a flash. Immediately I knew I'd gotten a photo. Would it be Barnard coming home from a long night of hunting?

HEY! Who is that?!!!

September 11

2011-09-11T07:13:00.004-04:00

Only one of my current animal family was with me on September 11. Luke. The rest came on the scene later.

So today I share my personal remembrance of the day. I wrote it last year, and it remains an honest reflection.

It's Magic!

2011-09-06T08:14:00.001-04:00

In the old days, I'd hop off the lawn mower to pull the bird feeder poles and neatly mow under them. I don't remember when I realized that there was magic building in those "weeds" -- now I let them flourish and see how I'm rewarded!

Lockdown

2011-09-02T08:01:00.001-04:00

While walking the dog this morning, I caught a glimpse of the barn. A bird was perched along the ridge of the roof. That's not unusual. We often have mourning doves sitting on the ridge, cooing out to the world. This morning's bird, however, sat quite upright. Like a raptor. Bird of prey.

On a normal walk Ulani and I head to the railroad tracks, then loop back past our house and as far as the empty house the other direction. But today when we got to our driveway I said "that's it, we have to check this out." Standing at the gate I could see clearly into the yard and sure enough, a hawk sat on top of the barn. I opened the gate to get closer. That's when it flew away, and I knew from the stripes on the tail that it was a Cooper's hawk.

We have experience with Cooper's hawks.

So I quickly checked the birds (all fine) and grabbed a piece of my green mesh fencing to block the Dutch door. I couldn't bring myself to close the hatch door into the back yard. The forecast today is 95 degrees and you know it will be hotter inside the barn. Due to the extended time the birds spent inside in June when the other predator was around, their run is full of thick, tall weeds that I hope will effectively camouflage them from intruders outdoors.

Check back tomorrow. No news is good news!

Update Sunday. For 36 hours I only counted 11 hens. Thought one had been taken, but last night when they were roosting I did another inventory and all 12 hens are there! Phew!

Strolling on a summer's day

2011-08-28T16:05:00.000-04:00

While our friends out east deal with the wind and water from Hurricane Irene, here in our southwest Michigan summertime "the living is easy". A short stroll through the yard revealed a number of interesting items to share with you. C'mon!

Down on the septic prairie, the prairie dock (Silphium terebinthinaceum) is in glorious bloom. How I wish the entire mound was covered in these plants this time of year!

The leaves are impressively large and rough as sandpaper. When I first saw them I was convinced the plant was a weed. But when it sends up a red stalk...

...of these bright, dancing daisy flowers, well nothing is cheerier! Just look at them!

I hope they're going to set seeds and spread up the mound for next summer.

Now we take a peek into the barn and find Barnard resting in the dog crate. I tried to get Barnard fixed this week, but it turned out he was broken -- in the form of an upper respiratory infection that must heal before he can have surgery. So he's been taking it easy in the barn, sneezing and sleeping.

He's a little bored. You know how it is when you have a cold. (BTW, he does NOT use that box for his bathroom needs. I still have not discovered how he's taking care of that part of his hygiene. Am moderately concerned to figure that out!)

The chickens are outside in their run, which is full of tall weeds giving them shelter from any predators. They just love to take a dust bath in the sun. I'm really happy that they're getting daily fresh air again.

Ulani waits patiently outside the barn door when I go in. As a known chicken killer, she's not allowed inside.

Peeking into the backyard I saw this lovely swallowtail on a clover plant. I only snapped this one picture before it flew off. Then, looking back across the field behind us, I saw some white movement in a tree. Suddenly I realized an egret was flying directly towards the barn!

There it is! Need help?

Lately I've seen one Great Blue Heron hanging around with six egrets in various field pools. They always startle me, and I wish my camera could do more zooming. But seeing them in person is the most magical thing and I always stop whatever I'm doing, or slam on the brakes, so that I can enjoy them. Before long the birds will begin their migration, though one heron remains here year round. Until then, I'll keep my eyes open.

Hope you enjoyed our little stroll around Busy Solitude Farm. Come back again!

In memory of Abe

2011-08-15T17:51:00.000-04:00

It's been a difficult summer pets-wise. And today I had to take Abe for his final visit at the vet.

His health has been declining, as I wrote last September. After Oskar died, I knew it wouldn't be too long before Abe followed him. I just hoped it would be a little longer. Whatever his illness was, he was not getting much nutrition from what he ate, was hungry constantly and losing strength. His back legs weakened significantly over the weekend. Today when he had trouble standing up and then staggered across the floor, I knew it was time.

Abe's personality, like his place on the Busy Solitude power map, fell in the middle. He was always friendly, but not what you would call outgoing. A bit more on the timid side, he always ran when Ulani would try to play with him outside. Luke, on the other hand, stands his ground and then rubs up against Ulani's legs as a show of victory. When Bodhi was still around, Abe and Bodhi hung together, letting Luke be the front man.

Where Abe really outshone his brothers was as a hunter. In mouse season, Abe brought a daily prize. He spent long hours in the kitchen, staring at the stove, waiting for the unlucky critter to wander just far enough that Abe could pounce on it and have his way.

Those skills will surely be missed this autumn. But the loss of Abe's easy-going presence is already felt throughout the house.

Barn cat

2011-08-09T19:51:00.000-04:00

Well, he wandered into the barn almost a week ago and he's still there. It might be time to find him a name besides Barn Cat.

He's getting more used to me.

He doesn't immediately jump out of my arms when I pick him up. Even if he maybe thinks about it.

We can get a few photos before he shoves off.

And every once in a while...

Hummingbird Courtship

2011-08-08T20:29:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I saw as many as five hummingbirds around the feeder at once. Then today I realized that the male ruby throat had begun to do the courtship dive. (I took a second brief video after this one in which you can see him lead a female off behind the cone flowers, but after a little verbal misstep on Facebook I decided not to post it!)

Maybe there will be little hummies before the end of summer!

I have been informed that it is too late in the summer for hummingbirds to be mating. Instead, this behavior is resource guarding as they work to bulk up before their southerly migration. Guess that's why I've never dated a ruby-throated hummingbird!

Chillin'

2011-08-07T18:59:00.001-04:00

Summer breeze makes me feel fine.

Insect art

2011-08-03T21:00:00.000-04:00

It might be art, the scalloped edge left on this hosta leaf after someone dined on it. Surprisingly, I cannot find a simple web page with photographs of damaged hosta leaves and explanations of which insects do what.

Does anyone know who the creative spirit might be?

Watermelon

2011-07-28T19:25:00.000-04:00

Nothing says deep summer like the juicy, bright pink flesh of a watermelon. I'm not talking about the seedless model engineered to be eaten politely at the dining table with a knife and fork. No, sir, I mean the kind you have to slice outdoors to keep the sticky juice from covering the kitchen floor. The kind you have to lean over to bite into, and after you chew, you enjoy the secondary sport of seed spitting.

Now that's watermelon!

So about a week ago, in the midst of the torturous humid heat we've all been suffering, I saw a nice, small watermelon at the market. Licking my lips, I thought I could share part with the chickens and enjoy a good, thick slice myself. Everyone would be happy!

I got home and took the melon into the kitchen, sliced out a big wedge over the sink and left it on the counter to take the rest to the chickens. In the barn I got to do one of the most fun food-related things that people almost never enjoy -- I intentionally dropped the melon on the floor to crack it open for the hens. They were all over that sweet pinkness in a matter of seconds, grabbing tasty chunks, then running away from the other hens, all the while clucking away over their prizes.

I returned to the kitchen ready for my refreshing slice. Instead, I discovered two naughty cats chomping away at my wedge. Nothing dainty or polite about it -- if I'd gotten them to look up (which I did not), both of their faces would have been covered in pink flesh.

So I gave in. I moved what remained of my wedge onto a plate on the dining table and let the cats have at it. They were so excited to be given such a prize, I just couldn't deny them.

Then what did I hear? Whimpering by my side?

Ulani was not going to be left out! I got a knife and gave her a large slice, too.

So this is who had watermelon: Spot, the other rooster, Eartha, Smokey, Lacey, Blondy, Peep, Maria, the other hens, The Duck, Abe, Luke and Ulani.

And this is who did NOT have watermelon: me.

Splat!

2011-07-22T07:17:00.000-04:00

In order to appreciate this story, you need a couple of facts. Fact #1: My elderly cat Abe frequently uses the bathroom but not the litter box. I've grown a bit weary of cleaning up pee and very loose poop from the bathroom rugs, or if the rugs are in the laundry (which they are a few times a week now), from the tile floor. Fact #2: When I moved into my house, I went to a Crate and Barrel warehouse and got a large red cotton area rug for the living room, and two smaller, matching rugs for my kitchen floor.

And now the story.

Last night when I got home from dinner, I discovered Abe had pooped on the bare bathroom floor. Again. So I cleaned it up and sprayed bathroom cleaner with bleach on the area, then went about my business. I'd had a stressful dinner with a friend, after a very busy day at work, and so I was distracted. To clear my mind I watched some of America's Got Talent and fell asleep.

I awoke around 11:00. The TV was still on. I needed to go brush my teeth and go to the bathroom. When I sat up, I thought I smelled that bathroom cleaner. Must have gotten it on my shoes, because I was now lying in bed with the bedroom door closed. So I got up, traipsed through the house, which all smelled a bit like a swimming pool in mid summer. Boy, I really sprayed that cleaner! Brushed my teeth, peed, back to bed and sound asleep quickly.

When I woke again this morning, the swimming pool smell was even stronger. Had a tank of anhydrous ammonia been broken into at the farm across the street? I am, after all, in the middle of farmland. I don't care for overly chlorinated pools and the smell was bugging me. I got up, went to the bathroom where I discovered more poop and pee on the bare bathroom floor. Cleaned that up. No need for further spray, thought I.

I went into the kitchen. As I entered the dark kitchen area, I looked at my beautiful red rugs. One of them had something spilled on it. It seemed that maybe a can of baby powder had exploded on it -- half the rug appeared to have a white coating on it, in a kind of circular pattern. But who has baby powder in the kitchen? I turned on the light.

A bottle of bleach had been dropped onto the rug from the edge of the sink. What I was seeing was the absence of color on that section of the rug. Abe must have been on the counter in the night, looking for food, and knocked it over. So my whole house is full of bleach fumes.

Argh. Now the rug is out on the grass (Ulani was too curious, I needed to get it out of the way). I mopped and mopped the floor underneath with clear water just to try to get it off the floor. Threw open the glass doors and windows to get some air circulation. Of course it's about 80 and raining lightly this morning, so it's not exactly like fresh air is gushing in. Still I feel a bit healthier knowing there's some circulation going on.

That damned cat!

I know Abe's sick with something serious -- he's not getting much nutrition from what he eats, and he's always looking for more, hence his visit to the kitchen counter overnight. And he's about 15, which starts to get old for a cat.

His spirits seem ok still, though. He doesn't appear to be suffering. He enjoys going outdoors for a little while, then he comes in and rests. He sits on my lap to have his ears scratched. So I cut him some slack. Maybe a little less after the bleach incident!

Peep show

2011-07-19T08:08:00.000-04:00

It's hot in the barn.

Comb over!

2011-07-12T01:19:00.003-04:00

This is Spot. For some reason, the back part of his comb is always flopping to the side. Actually, it's fortunate for me because that's how I can tell him apart from the other rooster, whose comb stands up.

Maybe Spot feels, as the elder rooster, that he should be stylin'!

All that was left...

2011-07-10T10:17:00.001-04:00

I mowed the grass behind the barn this morning. Seeing something unusually white in the cuttings, I slowed the mower and discovered what was left of the Quacker. (There are pictures behind the "read more". I don't think they are gruesome, but if you are sensitive, you might want to skip this one. --JH)

His skeleton was clean. This is what I first saw.

I wasn't certain if it was a duck or a hen. The two that disappeared after I last mowed the grass were one of each. Then I looked more closely...

...and recognized his bill. I lifted the skeleton a bit above the grass to see it in full.

The predator (or anything that came after) seems to have cleaned the skeleton of anything edible. That made me feel a bit better. If you're going to steal my birds, please make their last gift a longer life for someone else.

Morning has Broken, 11

2011-07-10T08:14:00.000-04:00

Coffee and cat.

Lazy July 4

2011-07-04T17:47:00.000-04:00

A perfect summer day spent lazing around. My only chore was bringing Luke a beer. Honestly!

Something completely different

2011-06-26T21:45:00.000-04:00

Things have been kind of dark here lately. But today was a beautiful summer day and my book group came for our discussion. So I decided to make a vegetarian paella as the main course.

Once the ingredients were lined up on the counter, I began by browning the vegetarian sausages.

Chopped onion, garlic, and three bell peppers.

Then everything into the pan -- peas and artichokes added, too.

I don't have a photo of it completely done. We sat to discuss the book (American Salvage by Bonnie Jo Campbell) and then devoured the paella along with two green salads. Delicious!

Egglebert was a Good Rooster

2011-06-25T07:18:00.000-04:00

Egglebert was killed last night. In all fairness, I can't say for certain whether it was the predator that got him, then couldn't remove him from the pen, or if he and the white rooster had it out and Eggy lost.

Eggy was part of my first season of chickens here in 2006. I ordered four Cuckoo Marans hens. One of them turned out to be a rooster. Thus began one of the big story lines at Busy Solitude Farm.

At first he was a big mush. Kind of girly. He hung around with the hens as a pal. Early on we had a season of challenge, me and the Eggster. It was a summer where I stopped showing my legs because the bruises from spurring were too gruesome. He was defending his girls.

I stood by him (broom in hand).

We went through my misled attempt to add testosterone to the barn with Tweedledum and Eggy survived that. Then he seemed to be more active with the hens, because we had a number of broodies who hatched an egg or two. Which led us to the "too many roosters" problem this summer.

I knew that the white rooster had gone after Egglebert. That was one of the reasons that Eggy started living outside the hen pen in the greater barn.

I indulged him, and let him have the run of the place.

But when the predator issue rose up, I had no choice but to put them together in the same space and hope for the best.

Last night when it was time to close up I discovered the power to the barn is out. My vast electrical knowledge extends to check to see if anything can turn on, and check the circuit breakers. Now I need someone to test and figure out where the problem is. The barn camera took one photo at 22:39. Without any additional light, the camera's flash didn't hit anything and the picture is black.

So I can't know if the white rooster won the fight last night, or if the predator killed him and couldn't get him out of the pen. His body was not near any exit point I can understand. That points towards the white rooster. But I can't know for sure.

Egglebert was a good rooster.

Now he's roaming the fields of chicken heaven.

Turmoil in the Barn

2011-06-20T22:14:00.000-04:00

Whatever got Ari Duckass has been back, grabbing hens from inside the barn. Two were taken over the weekend. I thought I had closed off the entrance route after the first, but then last night it took my Scruffy. So this morning before work I found the route by the trail of feathers and have done my best to close it up.

I've been visiting the barn frequently to make sure all's ok. Around 8:00 tonight I stepped out of the house. Something looked unusual.

Yes, that's right. Egglebert was perched on the dog yard side of the barn. Luckily I grabbed Ulani and tethered her before there was another tragedy.

Obviously he is not comfortable staying in the part of the barn where he's been for the past month or so. And who can blame him, it's the first section the predator enters.

But we know he cannot be in with the white roosters. So I did some juggling. Two roosters and nine hens are in the back section of the coop. The third rooster and Eartha Chick are in the front section. And that leaves the middle section for The Wacky Quackers, Smokey, Lacey, and Egglebert. All the chickens have roosts up high to help secure them. Ducks are the "low hanging fruit", but I did my best to block the door into the coop. I left a light on in the barn so any approaching danger is not as hidden.

It's going to be a long night.

CSI - Busy Solitude Farm

2011-06-17T22:41:00.001-04:00

This is the evidence of Ari's murder. (Nothing gross.)

Another loss

2011-06-17T07:49:00.000-04:00

Someone took Ari Duckass.

Last night I wanted to go to bed early and the ducks were still outside in their fenced area. I decided to leave the barn hatch door open so they could come in when they were ready. This was not the first time I've done that.

This morning the Wacky Quackers greeted me in the barn. I even thought to myself "see, they come in at night and in the morning they wait for Ari to lay her egg, then they go out for the day.

But as I did my chores I realized Ari was not in the barn. How unusual for the Quackers to be there if she was laying her egg outdoors. I didn't worry. I went about my business.

Just now I went to make sure she'd appeared before I get ready for work. Still didn't see her, so I went out to look and see if maybe she'd gotten out of the fence. As I walked the perimeter I discovered a track of white feathers going into the high grass. And as I followed the track it became clear that something had grabbed her and taken her away.

So Ari's gone. And now I'm bound to have big trouble with those two boys plus my rooster overpopulation. So if you have some girl ducks, I am ready to give you the Wacky Quackers. Let me know.

The Memorial Dogwood

2011-06-13T07:58:00.000-04:00

This is the white dogwood friends gave us in memory of Oskar.

I plan to build out a planting bed between it and the fence so that it will have a nicer background, but that will come over the summer.

In the meantime it's nice to have a place dedicated to his memory.

Hot Day at Busy Solitude Farm

2011-06-08T21:39:00.003-04:00

Ulani was feeling languid until she heard the ducks -- then she woke up!

(It was about 92 degrees when we were outside. You can see the rooster holding his wings away from his body, trying to catch a breeze in the open window!)

How We're Doing

2011-06-06T20:14:00.000-04:00

This picture was from Oskar's final photo shoot, on the Saturday before he died. I'd picked up a couple of fresh knuckle bones from Middlebrook Farm near us, and the weather was decent so Oskar and Ulani enjoyed them outside.

Just look at him enjoying that gristle. Oskar always enjoyed chewing a good, fresh bone.

People have asked how we're doing. Certainly I miss Oskar, but I remain so thankful that I know he was doing well right up until the end, and I take great comfort in that knowledge. There has been some role changing among the house animals. One day last week Ulani fiercely chased Luke away from her bone -- way beyond what was necessary. I'm pretty convinced that they all recognize that the totem pole has shifted and they're finding their way back to order.

Oskar's bed from this winter is still on the living room floor. I'm not ready to wash it and put it away. And when I saw this the other day, I realized that maybe none of us is.

Others' thoughts on dogs and loss

2011-05-28T11:43:00.000-04:00

Old men miss many dogs.
--Steve Allen

Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our life whole.
--Roger Caras

Love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.
--Khalil Gibran

You can't see anything properly while your eyes are blurred with tears.
--C. S. Lewis

Not the least hard thing to bear when they go from us, these quiet friends, is that they carry away with them so many years of our lives.
--John Galworthy

Dogs lives are too short. Their only fault, really.
--Agnes Sligh Turnbull

In loving memory, Oskar O'Naturel de Guerande

2011-05-23T23:35:00.002-04:00

Oskar died today. He bloated after dinner, and at the vet I chose to put him to sleep rather than subject him to invasive treatments that had low chances of helping. I'd been putting this video together for a while now. I was still working on it. You might need a tissue.

Oskar was a great dog. If you've been reading this blog, you know many stories about his 12-3/4 years. So right now I'm just going to tell you how today, his last day, was really good.

Like the rest of the country we've had a lot of bad weather here lately. Today, however, turned sunny and warm. I got home from work and we had our typical weeknight routine. Check the chickens, make supper for everyone. By 6:30 Oskar was outside in the yard and I watched the evening news. Between 7 and 8 I went outside with the dogs. Ulani and I played frisbee, and Oskar did his tricks for treats. The birds sang and all was happy.

Ulani and I came inside to watch Dancing with the Stars, but Oskar stayed in the backyard as he loved to do. The evening was sunny and about 75 degrees -- just perfect.

A couple of times at commercial breaks I looked over to see Oskar in the grass by the gate, watching over all the activity in the yard. This was his favorite thing. Then about ten 'til 9 when I looked he wasn't there. Not unusual because sometimes he'd go off to make rounds.

As DWTS wrapped up I looked out and he still wasn't there. Looking a little more carefully I saw he had shifted to a different place in the grass, and was surrounded by what looked like strips of white paper. Ulani and I went outside to check and I discovered that the white was foamy spit-up. Any owner of a large, deep-chested dog should know the signs of bloat. I had him stand up and thought his chest seemed a bit extended but certainly not that basketball appearance you fear. His gums, however, were grayish. Not a good sign. And he was panting.

I quickly called Dr. Mike and arranged to meet at the hospital in 20 minutes. Oskar carefully put his front legs into the backseat and I boosted him in. Then I drove faster on country roads than I ever have. Dr. Mike examined him then took him for an xray. I paced. When they returned I was given the bad news. Oskar was bloating. I already knew that I would not opt for surgery on a dog his age. There was only one other option.

And so I sat on the floor with my big boy, sang the Puppy School song with him, had him shake hands and do a quiet bark, while the drugs took effect and he left me. It was very peaceful and I was so grateful to be able to end his suffering.

I'll have more to write in a day or two.

Morning has Broken, 10

2011-05-15T08:13:00.001-04:00

There's a war going on at Busy Solitude Farm. (No, not that war in the barn. That's a different conflict.) It's the Sugar Water War, fought each year by the male hummingbirds whose territoriality is legendary.

This little guy is currently "King of the Mountain."

He perches on the hook, looking all around for the challengers. Currently there are two challengers. Three beautiful boys fighting mid-air, screeching and zipping, to control the sugar water and win the ladies' hummingbird hearts.

You can watch a little bit of the zipping here.

Every once in a while they pause and all refresh themselves with sugar water. Which makes it appear to be more of a collegial exercise rather than blood sport.

I hope the ladies are impressed.

More storm damage...

2011-05-13T17:40:00.000-04:00

This is one of about four evergreens knocked over in the big storm Wednesday night. One particular road bore the brunt of the wind's fury.

Trees knocked over...

Branches and entire tree trunks cracked...

But wouldn't you just know...

This old barn is still standing!

Mother Nature

2011-05-12T08:53:00.000-04:00

There'd been no warning of severe storms. But suddenly they developed at the south end of Lake Michigan and began moving north-east. I'd been outside with the dogs and cats and watched the clouds on the horizon. Finally when it began to sprinkle I said "ok, everybody in the house!"

In we went. The dogs panted hard, a dependable precursor to a storm. Sure enough, the rain came down hard. And the lightening was constant, with thunder rolling in the distance. We sat on the bed watching westward out the closed window; hail hammered the glass. I popped on the television in time to hear the weatherman say "there's rotation in these clouds between Three Oaks and Galien." That's EXACTLY where I live!

So I told the dogs "we're getting away from these windows!" We moved into the living room, on the couch. That's when I discovered that Luke had opened the screen after we all came in, and apparently gone back outside. Now he was in the middle of a huge storm. But there was nothing I could do at that point.

The storm raged on. At one point I swear I heard that whoosh like a train that people always say they hear when a tornado races past. The winds were massive.

And then a weird thing happened. The power flashed and went out. I live in the country and this is not so unusual, but it almost always comes right back on. This time it stayed out. And the weird thing was I heard a noise. An electrical noise, right outside the living room window. "Expletive deleted," I thought. Now I'm really screwed.

It was pitch black in the house. I felt my way around the dogs, past the dining table to the washing machine. My rechargeable flashlight hangs in a plug next to the washer. And it was not there. So I felt my way back to the kitchen, found a candle and a match, then discovered the flashlight on the kitchen table. Phew. I immediately took the flashlight to the front door, and as soon as I called, Luke came racing inside.

Everything is a chore in the dark. I searched around to find my cell phone, then searched to find an electric bill for the outage phone number. Expected a message saying "we are aware of outages in your area" but no such luck. Once that was finished, there was nothing to do but go to bed.

We all piled into the bedroom and snuggled up. The dogs still panted loudly, and the cats were pretty clingy in the hot air. Still, within half an hour we all dozed off. Until midnight when there were voices outside. The dogs set off the bark alarm. I looked out the window and saw search lights coming up the road.

So out I went to the street to find the electric company guys shining their light on the electric pole across the street. I figured they had things in hand and would have our power back on in a matter of minutes, so back to bed. Where I awoke this morning still out of power. And got the message that it was expected back on by 11 am.

Out with the dogs in the morning light, I finally figured out what had happened. As you see in the photo, the lines on that electric pole snapped. That must have caused the weird sound I heard, and definitely is the reason no power is reaching my house. That's a corn field that pole is in -- no trees nearby. Those lines snapped from wind.

Mother Nature is awesome!

Spring Storm!

2011-05-11T21:02:00.000-04:00

What a storm we had! No one forecast such a sudden onslaught --the dogs started panting half an hour before, and I put it up to the heat. But they knew what was coming. No doubt.

Where's the Smell-o-Vision?

2011-05-10T19:52:00.001-04:00

Temperatures hit 80 today, and the lilacs burst into glorious bloom. Though these two bushes are near the road, I could smell the scent clearly as I left the barn this afternoon.

There are three other lilacs in other places in the yard, kind of surrounding the house. Now that the windows are open, I'm aware of them everywhere.

Believe it or not, this morning before I left for work I stuck my nose straight into this bush and smelled nothing!

I didn't include anything in this photo for size, but these two side-by-side lilacs are about a head taller than my 5 foot 4 inches. And this year they're just blowsy and elegant!

Oh, alright! I couldn't resist adding myself so you can see just how tall they are!

Roosters

2011-05-08T21:38:00.000-04:00

The rooster problem reached a sad climax today. Multiple times I heard commotion in the barn, but each time I went to investigate I found nothing wrong. Finally I stopped checking and went on about my business.

Sadly, when I went to close the barn tonight I discovered Eggy Jr. dead. The food and waterer were spilled, and two of the white roosters were bloodied. And as I cleared up the mess, the two roosters began fighting each other.

I've been preparing to rearrange the chicken housing, but am not yet ready to create any more separate pens. So I took one of the roosters and boarded him with the ducks for overnight. He can roost up high to stay away from the drakes' probing bills and it keeps him away from the aggressive rooster.

Tomorrow I'll have to give serious consideration to the options. They aren't many.

Hummingbird!

2011-05-06T07:53:00.000-04:00

This morning I saw my first hummingbird of the year! (That's not it, that photo is from last summer.) Others reported hummers in Michigan since early April. I replaced my broken feeder, boiled up some sugar water, and then waited. And waited.

I did notice that the water level was going down -- but the storms and wind might have been responsible for that. At least that's what I thought.

Until this morning!

I sat on the back step, drinking my coffee with Luke warming my lap. Suddenly, ZIP! BUZZ! And there helicoptering around the feeder... a hummer! It drank and drank, then zipped over to the clothesline and perched for a minute. How I wished I had my binoculars in hand. Or my camera. But all I had was a cup of delicious coffee, much needed after last night's Cinco de Mayo margarita.

Oops, that's another story.

After a rest on the clothesline, the hummer zipped back to the feeder and then off across the yard. Where did it go? I hope to tell the other hummers it's time to get back to Busy Solitude Farm!

Can summer be far off?

The Nose Knows

2011-05-03T21:03:00.000-04:00

Just a couple of weeks ago, on April 18, this is what we had to contend with.

Then the rains came. The grass greened up. The days got longer.

And now there're just a few drips of water from the drink bucket decorating Oskar's nose. Will the weather ever warm up?

The nose knows!

Happy Easter from BSF

2011-04-24T10:29:00.000-04:00

A beautiful spring day at Busy Solitude Farm.

Abe is keen on a day spent outdoors, on his tuffet!

Luke's just about to do some grooming. Nothing a cat likes better than a bath in the sunshine!

We'll be spending the day outdoors -- hope you all have a lovely Easter!

Ulani's birthday!

2011-04-22T07:43:00.000-04:00

Eight years ago today, ten puppies were born to Roxy and Omerta. These are the five girls. And second from the right, keeping her head just a little higher than the rest? That's U La La Ulani de Guerande!

I wanted to post a new photo today, but it's pouring rain. Instead, please enjoy these baby photos of my little eight-year old. The babiest photos were taken by Ulani and Oskar's breeder, Veronique Mauroux. Thanks, V, for filling my house with Briards!

April 18. Yes, April.

2011-04-18T07:48:00.000-04:00

Still coming down. Heavily. April 18.

Morning has Broken, 9

2011-04-17T08:07:00.001-04:00

A windy morning at Busy Solitude Farm. You can hear the gusts. Unstable spring weather as the jet stream shifts into warmer mode.

Everything is waking up after a week or two in the 40s and 50s, along with quite a bit of rain.

Walk down here and you'll see I've planted two Coppertina ninebarks to fill in a gap on the south fence. The one on the left I bought last summer and neglected until the last moment that I could put it in the ground.

All winter I worried "will it survive? Will it wake up?" Now you can see those red leaves beginning to peek out. Maybe it was jealous of the one on the right, which I bought a couple of weeks ago at a local nursery.

Such a gorgeous color!

The grass grew gangbusters this week. Due for a mow again already -- I cut the main lawn last weekend. That is what spring is all about.

That and wind. Just look at this wind.

Hey! Who's that?!

Not again!

2011-04-12T19:50:00.000-04:00

The grass exploded into greenness this weekend! However, what I am really here to tell you about is a cat story. That's Abe, the black cat, in the middle of the photo. I just barely cracked the door open to take the photo. I didn't want Ulani to go out, and I sure as heck was not going.

Why?

He had a snake! This is the second snake he's collected in just a couple of weeks. The first one he gnawed off the back end, but when I went to dispose of it I discovered it was still alive. Yikes! Believe me, I understand how good snakes are for the garden. I am happy to have them around. But we have an agreement going from a long time back. You might recall, we renewed our agreement last spring. The deal is, the snakes are supposed to stay out of sight. There are hours and hours of the day that I am at work or asleep. During those times, the place is all theirs. But when I am home, the snakes are to stay OUT OF SIGHT!

So this snake was all curled up and the cat got bored. Must be dead, thought I, so I took the dogs for walks. When we got back, I steeled myself to go remove it from the yard.

And it was gone.

Quick Monday Morning

2011-04-04T07:26:00.000-04:00

The temperature rose to 70. Overnight. By the time we woke up this morning it was in the lower 60s, and will continue falling for a while still.

But it's in the 60s. So I threw open all the windows. It's very gray and windy out -- really threatening, though it's not currently raining. The dogs and cats can come and go at will.

This is my favorite thing about spring -- out with the old air, in with the new!

The Big Barn Reveal

2011-03-28T18:04:00.000-04:00

This morning Graham Tree Services came by to fix my willow tree. I only stayed for the first few minutes, then I had to go to work, but it was a real production.

They brought the cherry picker and the chipper into the yard. You can imagine how excited Oskar and Ulani were in the house! After reviewing the situation, Bruce got into the bucket and moved on up into the canopy.

As I watched from the driveway, he whacked off a few dead limbs on a different branch! I had to catch my breath and remind myself that he knows trees, and after all I did hire them. So before I changed my mind, I went off to work.

Now join me as I return home for the big reveal!

(BTW, ducks are ok!)

Willow, weep for yourself

2011-03-26T10:21:00.000-04:00

It's the classic view of Busy Solitude Farm. Loyal readers know my old barn and huge willow tree. Sadly, that view is going to change.

Oh, it's not a drastic change as changes goes. No tragedies accompany this news; no one's been hurt. But the morning I took these photos last week I discovered something unsettling.

See, right there in the middle of the big branch that hangs over the barn roof? There's a hole in it. You could put your hand through it.

This is not good news.

I've always joked that when that branch came down I could collect insurance and rebuild the barn. That was a joke. But if this branch came down in a storm it would do serious damage.

So I've called the tree guys to come take a look. In all honesty, if I had lots of money I would have the entire tree removed. Sure, it casts beautiful shade in the summer. But willows are notoriously messy trees, casting little branches and leaves everywhere. And in my five plus years here, two big branches have already come down, the first smashing the fence and the second nearly smashing my table and chairs. But tree work is very spendy, as they say.

Thus the bad branch has to go.

I'm already in for having my front fence rebuilt this spring. Between that and the tree, there goes my budget for improvements! I plan to stretch a bit and put in a couple of fruit trees beyond the fence. They can grow up a bit, provide some back-up in case the willow is removed in the future.

Watch for a new view of BSF coming your way soon!

U La La Ulani Having Fun!

2011-03-20T10:27:00.001-04:00

She'll be eight in April, but she's still a puppy to me!

Morning Bird Song

2011-03-18T07:29:00.000-04:00

OK, I admit it. One of the good things about daylight savings time is that dawn falls well within my "getting ready for work" time. So I take my coffee outside, and while the dogs snuffle around investigating who's been through the yard overnight, I sit on the step and listen to the birds.

I don't know much about birdsong, but I am told these videos caught the American cardinal and the robin, as well as that most elusive character, the rooster! Well, even I could have ID'd the rooster!

Please, get another cup of coffee and enjoy!

Morning Has Broken, Daylight Savings Edition

2011-03-13T08:38:00.000-04:00

We sprang forward last night. All day yesterday I heard media people declaring "an extra hour of daylight".

There is no extra hour.

Daylight Savings Time simply means we take an hour from the beginning of the day and shift it to the end. Same number of hours in the day. It's that simple.

Except it's really not simple. The photo above was taken at 7:30 am. Not exactly "morning light" by my reckoning. I live just to the east of the division between Eastern and Central time. People here extoll the wonders of the evening sun -- by June, when the days are longest, I will sometimes go to bed before the sun goes down. You may enjoy that. I'd rather have some morning sun.

Before I moved here, I lived just to the west of the division between Eastern and Central time. In June the sun rose around 5:30 am. To me, that was an extra hour of daylight. I would arise with the sun and have the great luxury of time before work. To walk the dogs. To work in the garden. To bake or cook. The sun would set around 8 or 8:30, giving me a short bit of darkness before bed each and every night.

I liked that better.

But we all know you can't always get what you want. So I struggle through the new morning darkness. With some effort, I hope to put my long evenings to good use reorganizing the barn, pruning shrubs, and getting the vegetable garden ready for summer.

Right after I have another cup of coffee.

Duck Weather

2011-03-09T08:21:00.001-05:00

Hen on Ice

2011-03-06T08:52:00.000-05:00

I have been distracted lately. My job situation changed just as I thought it was settling. Last night I joined friends to see Inside Job, the documentary about the 2008 financial meltdown. It's quite upsetting. We stopped at a local bar to discuss the film, and an actual barroom brawl broke out!

So when I got home last night, all I wanted to do was go to bed. I stopped in the barn to make sure the ducks had come in, closed the hatch door, and the dogs and I retired.

Imagine my shame this morning when Ulani announced there was a chicken outside.

This morning's clear blue sky should be some indication of how cold it was. And there was a light covering of snow on everything. And poor Ms. Wyandotte spent the night outside.

After putting Ulani safely indoors, I raced back and scooped up the chilly hen. She squawked at first, but as soon as I held her tight to my jacket she snuggled in. I brought her into the barn and put her in a nest box. A little cracked corn and she seemed much happier.

You can see all the ice crystals on her feathers. (Her back is a little bare from the roosters mating her, but on the right you see the ice.)

Generally speaking, the chickens do not like to go outside when there's snow on the ground. The ducks, however, have been eager to get out and muck around. So for the past couple of weeks they've been going out alone. I know that hens have not been out, because I see all the footprints.

But I will be much more vigilant about checking to see that everyone is indoors from now on. I guess it's another sign of spring!

Guest Poster: June "You Don't See This at Busy Solitude Farm!"

2011-02-25T08:24:00.000-05:00

Where to begin? On Wednesday I was visiting my sister who lives 7 minutes away from me on 9 mile Road, guess what happened?? We had a visitor. My sister has lived there for over 37 years and in all those years, I had never seen a moose. That is, until about a month ago I saw one crossing the road.

My sister went to the counter, looked out the window and exclaimed, June, come here, but don't scream...I scream when I get excited! There right before my eyes was a Moose. My brother-in-law said she was about 1 year old. We grabbed our coats and quietly went outside cameras in hand. I was absolutely thrilled to be part of the experience! We named her Eloise.

The next day around 3:00 p.m. the phone rang, it was my brother-in-law saying get up here, Eloise is back! Off I raced to be part of yet another exciting moment. That afternoon I took 75 shots of Eloise and at a lot of points I was 10 feet away from her.

People were stopping and getting out of their cars to get a close up look. Eloise didn't seem to mind, but seemed to be enjoying her moment of fame! The fact that she was nibbling on my brother-in-law's apple trees was neither here nor there, we told him to chill!

And that, as they say is that!

Editor's note: June lives in Wendover, Ontario. Our dogs are related to each other.

A book you might enjoy...

2011-02-23T07:57:00.000-05:00

Today is the official release date for Margaret Roach's book And I Shall Find Some Peace There, about how she dropped out of the corporate world and established herself on her own little two acres of peace in upstate New York (I think it's "upstate", not being from around there I could be wrong!).

Our experiences run very parallel, with a few differences in scale, and I'm messy and enjoy having animals all over the place!

If you enjoy my blog for the animals, then you might not be drawn into her book. But if you, too, have the fantasy of leaving it all behind, check out Margaret's book. She shares it warts and all!

Morning has Broken, 8

2011-02-19T11:09:00.000-05:00

You have not experienced a full moon until you've spent the night with one in the country.

Here at Busy Solitude Farm we put little store in curtains. Oh, there are some in the living room where the strong summer sunshine would otherwise bake all stay-at-home inhabitants. But generally speaking we enjoy looking out into the world.

Except when the world intrudes in.

Last night's full moon was as bright as the sun on a heavily overcast day. Dark shadows danced across the yard, the side of my house glowed. Wait, you say. How do you know what the outside of the house looked like?

Both last night and the night before, I was awakened around 1:00 am by frantic crowing from the barn. Not the occasional cock-a-doodle-doo that one hears on any given night, but a constant, frenzied crowing. The most memorable time in my life that I heard this type of crowing was at my old house with my old chickens when their heat lamp had fallen off its hook and smoke was billowing out the coop door. This is serious crowing.

So both last night and the night before, I pulled my sorry butt out of my cozy warm bed, found random socks and jeans and sweaters, hoped I grabbed my barn sneakers, and trekked out to the barn to investigate.

And both last night and the night before, I found Spot perched up high, head thrown back, crowing his ever-loving heart out. When I enter the barn, he looks at me as if to say "hey, are you up, too?"

That, my friends, is how I happened to see what my house looks like in the late night full moon. Sorry that I did not have camera in hand. Tonight we are in line for rain. No full moon anticipated. But just in case....

Update

2011-02-17T07:46:00.000-05:00

We've been wrapped up in our little world lately. The good news is the weather improved so much and our piles of snow are quickly disappearing. Last night the dogs went outside after dark. After five minutes or so I looked out the door and could not see them. I went into the bedroom to look out the back windows. No dogs. Starting to get a little uncomfortable, I returned to the door and called out to them. "Jingle jingle jingle" came the reply of their collar tags from a far corner of the yard. They haven't been able to get back there for weeks due to deep snow -- I imagine the wild critters have had quite a party not being chased, and left all of their detritus for the dogs to sniff out!

Too many roosters continues to be a problem in the barn. Hopefully once the snow is gone I'll be able to do some rearranging so that there is more pen space and they can be separated more effectively. The ducks have enjoyed a few days outside lately, splashing in all the mud and puddles the snow's leaving behind.

Boy, they're having fun!

What's not so fun is that Oskar has developed what the vet believes is a very large fatty tumor in his thigh. How large? The unaffected thigh is 12 inches in circumference. The one with the swelling is 17 inches. So far it does not seem to bother him -- he's walking like himself, trots to retrieve a ball or frisbee, sleeps on both sides. But it's worrisome. I'm not keen on surgery on a 12-1/2 year old large dog. We have the option to take a different look at the growth via ultrasound, but it would require shaving the area and I want to at least wait until the weather is reliably warmer.

So that's what's up around here at busy, busy Busy Solitude Farm!

Playtime at BSF

2011-02-05T20:02:00.000-05:00

Oskar and Ulani had a terrific afternoon out in the bright, warm sun. This particular encounter was actually begun by my boy. He doesn't really wrestle any more, but he does enjoy their own brand of play.

After a minute, Ulani was distracted by a sound. There's a cold frame under the pile of snow and she was convinced a critter was in there. And what do you know, she was right! A little squirrel raced out the back of the pile and along the house. Ulani was so startled it took her a minute to chase off in pursuit -- enough lead time for the squirrel to race into the tree unharmed.

(The color's weird because it was SO sunny!)

It was bound to happen...

2011-02-03T07:56:00.000-05:00

Oskar's Comfort

2011-01-31T20:51:00.000-05:00

On our walk last weekend, I noticed that Oskar kind of tripped a couple of times. I wondered if perhaps his toenails needed clipping. This time of year they don't get much "filing" from pavement, and old dogs' nails seem to just grow and grow.

I caught him lying down shortly after we came inside. Cut the front paws no problem, the top back leg fine, but the leg he was lying on was a little trickier. After I finished he jumped up to go outside and I let him. I cleaned up the nail trimmings then turned to look outside and saw, to my horror...

Bloody footprints! I must have cut the quick of that last foot. He walked blood all up and down the path in the yard. Gave no sign that anything hurt, though. I hoped that the cold would cut off the flow quickly, but that didn't seem to work. Maybe it's because he takes a daily anti-inflammatory drug.

This makes it look like his front foot bleeding, but he's just standing on another puddle of red. The effect the snow did have was to preserve the blood in its fresh, bright red state for the entire weekend! Any peek outside brought to mind some awful slaughter.

In other Oskar comfort news, I've been concerned about him sleeping on the cold floor. Previous years, he's climbed up on the couch on cold winter nights, but he's not doing that any more. Our house is on an unheated crawl space and the floor can be 5 or more degrees colder than the couch. I didn't want to put blankets under him because he needs stability for lying down and getting up.

Farm Girl Beth came to our rescue (once again!). Her dog, Banjo, sleeps outside in a wonderous pen with straw and good wind blocks. However, F.G. Beth's daughter The Lovely Josie was concerned that Banjo might be too cold, so they bought an outdoor heating pad for him. Apparently that manly Banjo would have none of it! So F.G. Beth offered to let Oskar use it. The first day it was at his bed he kind of ignored it, but look what I saw this evening...

Looks like he's coming around! Thanks F.G. Beth!

Ulani and the Flying Squirrel

2011-01-22T08:56:00.000-05:00

Ulani loves to play Frisbee. And these days, when the wind whips across the fields and the roads lay deep below the ice and snow cover, playing Frisbee is a really good way for her to shake off the cabin fever.

I felt that our old, beaten up, plastic disc was not up to snuff. If it lands right side up in the snow, it's very difficult for Ulani to find the edge to pick it up. And the places where teeth have gone through it seem rough, almost sharp. Definitely time for a new toy.

I put out the word that I was looking for a flying toy that she could pick up more easily. Linda P. suggested we try a "flying squirrel", so I picked one up.

The first time I threw it for Ulani, she raced after it, pounced on it in the snow, picked it up, shook it like crazy, dropped it, pounced on it again... She absolutely loved it! I was delighted! Of course, I did not have the camera out so you can't see that encounter. Instead, here's the second time we brought the flying squirrel outside:

Unbelievable.

Once I pulled myself together we tried it again, and here's the resulting video:

Much better! The flying squirrel is a big hit around here, lightening the veil of cabin fever for another day.

It's my birthday!

2011-01-19T07:57:00.000-05:00

Spots been in a tussle; he didn't want his picture taken!

And some of the hens had specific feelings about birthdays.

This Gold Laced Wyandotte is so pretty I had to share a close-up!

This is Eggy Jr. He's taken over the boss job from his dad, who is retired to the iso -pen.

The middle white rooster. As yet nameless.

Scruffy is spending a few days in the crate. She was feeling punky. She's rebounding nicely.

Can't get too near the ducks or they scatter.

But if you look closely, you'll see the Wacky Quackers were serenading me.

In the house, Abe offered his best wishes.

Luke wasn't as effusive. He never is.

Ulani loves picture taking -- look right at the camera and smile!

Something moved in the far back yard. But I'm sure Oskar was thinking "Happy Birthday Johanna" while he refused to look at the camera. I'm sure of it!

And that is the birthday tour of Busy Solitude Farm for 2011! I hope everyone enjoys my birthday!

Snowstorm slideshow

2011-01-09T11:27:00.002-05:00

Join us now for a tour around Busy Solitude Farm as we wake up to the results of the year's first blizzard.

Morning has Broken, 7

2011-01-09T08:14:00.000-05:00

Blizzardy Solitude

2011-01-08T20:48:00.005-05:00

White roosters -- or are they?

2011-01-02T10:00:00.002-05:00

This is White Rooster #3. You'll remember that first we had Spot, then White Rooster #2, and now a third. None of the white birds is a girl, drat. I think they're just beautiful and I really wanted a sweet white girl. But no such luck, and they're kind of skittery, not cuddly at all.

I was watching them this morning and realized an interesting thing about their color. They're not actually white!

This is #2. Look at the feathers on his neck and back.

You can see it here even better. And if I make these photos a bit larger...

You can see that he's got dilute stripes! The pattern of a Cuckoo Marans (see below photo of Chick-Chuck and Eggy Jr.), but with the color diluted. In the right light, the stripes glow golden on top of the white background.

I am enchanted! But there are still too many roosters.

The end.

New Year's Contest!

2010-12-31T16:03:00.002-05:00

SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM WHERE I ANNOUNCE THE WINNER!

The new year is beginning, and what better way to enjoy it than to follow it with "A Year at Busy Solitude Farm"?! I made these calendars for family and friends, and now I invite any reader interested in having one to participate in our Calendar Contest. Entries close at 11:59 pm on Friday, January 7, and I'll give one away on January 8. Come back here to find out who won!

Enter now by commenting on this blog entry (no, don't post on Facebook, it won't count!). Tell me what story this past year you remember most, or who your favorite Busy Solitude critter is. Or just say "I want to win a calendar"! **Don't forget to sign your post, or I won't know how to tell you you've won!!** To be honest, I'm not sure how I'll pick the winner. Other blogs do it randomly, but sometimes when I enter I think "my entry is the best, what does a random picker know?" But I'll definitely be mailing a calendar out to some lucky reader in a week or so!

Here are just a few months to whet your appetite! Good luck, and happy new year!

ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

I broke down and used a random number generator. You all are too nice, and I liked everyone's comments and enjoyed seeing what you remember from 2010 at Busy Solitude Farm.

So without further ado, comment number 18, TONY is the winner! Please e-mail me privately at johanna119@sbcglobal.net to give me your mailing address. Congratulations!

Will Egglebert Retire?

2010-12-26T18:57:00.000-05:00

Egglebert came to Busy Solitude Farm in the first chicken year. I had ordered four Cuckoo Marans pullets in a joint order with a friend. It soon became clear that one of the four was more manly than the others. No problem, thought I, every flock should have a rooster.

As the chickens of reached maturity, Eggy came into his protective own. He would chase me out of the barn willingly enough and without provocation. The summer of 2007 brought his first chick, when Chick-Chuck hatched to the ill-fated yellow hen who was murdered just weeks later.

The next year I added a second rooster to the flock, hoping to boost the number of chicks we could hatch. Tweedledum was a fighter and eventually had to be dispatched to keep peace.

Which leads us to the latest development.

My naivete about hatching chicks failed to acknowledge that 50 percent of them would be roosters. After a fruitful 2010 of hatches, there are a total of five roosters in the barn, and only one new hen. (There are also two male ducks to one female duck, alas.) All was well for a while.

But yesterday someone attacked Egglebert. I think it was his son, Eggy Jr. When I came into the barn I discovered Egglebert with his head and neck stuck through the gap of the gate. He'd tried so hard to get out that the gate was jammed and it took some maneuvering for me to open it. He stayed so still I thought he was dead, but when I turned my back he sped out the gate into the greater barn. I fed the hens, then looked around and found him hiding. He was petrified.

I let him stay out there for a while, placing food and water near him. Then later in the evening I retrieved him (by then he was standing up) and moved him into the isolation pen in the coop. Eggy Jr. raised a ruckus when he saw his father returning, and Egglebert was clearly frightened until he recognized that he was protected from attack.

So now I have a situation that must be addressed. If Egglebert would graciously step down as top rooster, would Eggy Jr. allow him to stay? I watch enough PBS documentaries to know that some species allow that to happen, but some don't. Will he need to be separated for the rest of his life? If so, the configuration of coop space needs to be rethought.

For the time being, Egglebert will stay in isolation. I will acknowledge that five roosters is too many in my small flock, and something will need to be done.

But for now, it is Christmas.

Christmas at Busy Solitude Farm

2010-12-24T13:14:00.001-05:00

U: "Uncle Oskar, is it true that Santy Paws flies around the whole world tonight, bringing presents and biscuits to all good dogs everywhere? What time do you think he'll get here?"

O: "I must explain, Ulani, that he sees you when you are chasing the cats. Or eating chickens. Or stealing food off the kitchen counters. Santy Paws sees everything."

U: "Oh. I didn't really want to meet him anyway."

Merry Christmas from
all of us at Busy Solitude Farm!

DANGER ALERT!

2010-12-12T17:05:00.003-05:00

My book group meets at 5:30 today. My plan was to put sweet potato chips in the oven at 4:00, then get cleaned up and organized to venture out in the snow. But my plan was changed.

The video shows the beginning of the saga. About five 'til four I took the dogs out in the yard. We looked around some to see how much snow is down. Near the barn I noticed an unusual chicken sound. Usually that means one of the chickens is picking (sometimes literally) on another, so I went into the barn to investigate.

I discovered two chickens absolutely squished under the ramp that leads to the outside. Why had they gone there? Was one attacking the other? The red hen's wing was caught in the space between the ramp and the wall. All the other chickens were very agitated, squawking and clucking and running back and forth.

Of course I had to leave the pen for a minute to get a pitchfork with which to pry up the ramp, freeing the red hen. The young white chicken was stuck under there with her. What on earth?

I picked up the red hen, who seemed to be relieved to be freed. Then all the chickens came running into the part of the pen I was in. What is going on? I carried the hen with me into the other side of the coop. That's when I saw the hawk.

Yup, there was a hawk inside the chicken pen.

I quickly shooed the chickens into the far side of the pen and blocked the door between. There are still open spaces, but that seemed a bit safer. Then the hawk swooped at my head. I hadn't anticipated that! While I looked around for a stick or something to shoo it along, it flew out of the pen into the other part of the barn. That's when I got this picture.

OK, here it is cropped:

Is that a Cooper's Hawk? It was about the size of a crow.

Anyway, there are vents along that wall between the ceiling and the outer wall, and the hawk must have escaped up into the upstairs of the barn. So I raced over and opened the Dutch door, hoping if it came back down, it would leave.

I climbed up to have a peak upstairs. I never go there, there's nothing up there but a bunch of dust and bird poop from the sparrows (who may be leaving if the hawk takes up residence). At first I couldn't see anything, even with my flashlight. Then I saw a form perched on the far side. I took a picture, and while you can't see anything in it, you do see the reflections from two beady eyes.

Back down I went, raced into the house to get my gun. My staple gun, that is. Because you see, every winter I put heavy plastic up all around the chicken's pen to reduce drafts. And I hadn't done it yet this year, but it was clear that some heavy plastic across any openings could be mighty helpful in deterring this hawk!

You know that the plastic was all balled up in the corner of the barn, covered with a summer's worth of heavy dust. Blech. But I went forth and got it all up. And I stuffed empty feed sacks in any spaces I could find between the ceiling and the wall.

At one point while I was stapling, the hawk returned, swooping right at my head. I screamed and chased it out of the barn.

When last seen, it was fleeing over a snowy field. But will it return?

Update 9:45 pm. I went to check on the barn before bed. Sadly, I think the red hen is dying. I discovered she has a hole in her back, presumably pecked by the hawk. I set her in the isolation pen under the heat lamp because I couldn't bear to take her outside in the blizzard while there's still life in her, but I expect she'll pass by morning. Further update Monday morning. The red hen's life passed away over night. Rest in peace.

Have a Pac-Man Christmas!

2010-12-12T11:26:00.000-05:00

After much struggle to get a single strand of lights around the little pine tree in the yard, I finally broke down and got a couple of those shrub light blankets. Seemed a piece of cake until the timer switched on and I discovered...

Someone took a bite out of our lights! Now a blizzard is bearing down on us, so I'm not certain if I'll be able to get this fixed, or if I should just enjoy having a "special" tree this year!

A Bedtime Tour

2010-12-07T20:02:00.000-05:00

In the chilly darkness of this winter evening, I decided to take a few photos of the chickens at bedtime. They all roost by the time it gets dark. I like the peacefulness of the barn at bedtime.

The ducks huddle together on the floor for bedtime. Ari is well protected by her posse of Wacky Quackers. It appears that they take turns sleeping and being watchful, all to the benefit of Ari.

Mama Hen roosts with her two "chicks". I believe the white one will be (yet another) rooster, and the stripey one is a girl. This is a first for my barn, that a hen remains family with chicks this large. Normally by this time the mother has pushed them away to begin their independent existence. This hen even lets them try to nest under her still!

Spot and his girls roost up high on the edge of the isolation pen. He's grown into a beautiful rooster. His feathers are silky soft, and now that he has claimed the girls who were chicks in the spring, he's settling into his roosterhood.

On the other wing of the coop, these two old birds roost up high. Eartha and the Ameraucana are from my first chickens here, in 2006.

Beneath them on the window ledge are (yet another) white cockerel and the gold hens. (There is a sheet of plexiglass on the outside of that window, they are not sleeping exposed!)

And finally, Egglebert, Eggy Jr. and the rest of the flock. Chick Chuck sleeps on the far end of the top rung, next to Egglebert. Then the Isa Reds sleep one or two levels down. And... What's this?

[In reviewing this photo I realized something was wrong. That hen on the ground is not taking a dust bath. She is dead. She was also one of my original chickens here. I guess the cold just got to her, and she died. As soon as I realize, I rushed out to the barn to remove her. The other chickens were not in the least bit upset.]

So much for the peaceful bedtime tour!