Erosion Control and More

rain gauge

I got about six tenths of an inch of rain yesterday so I didn't have to water anything today, yay!


So I spent the coolest part of the morning walking the creek rebuilding little check dams, trying to slow down the water. I know that is about as productive as re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic, but it is at least something. What I really need is a little tractor so I can get up on top of the hills, where the gullies start, and dig some swales.


But for now, mostly I sit in the shade and throw rocks.

small gully before

and after

I should have taken a before picture. This is the downstream side of the culverts. Due to everything that went on last year I never got back to this project, to put down more cement and rocks where the water shoots out of the pipes. When I checked on it today I realized that in 2 rain storms I've lost almost 2 feet of creek bottom and the water was undercutting the cement that was there. I had some rock piled up nearby, which was intended for the retaining wall, instead it went into the creek bottom. Over the next couple of days I"ll try and add some small rock and gravel to fill in the gaps, then cap it with some cement.

snacks, large red cherry tomatoes

I got another 6x6' panel wired up today, 2 more and a 6x10 panel to go.

compost chicken corral coming along

Then, my son let me borrow his big magnet, so I dragged part of the driveway for nails. I picked up probably four times this much. It is hard to use over the rocks and uneven ground but you can hear the metal bits clinking onto the magnet.

lots of junk

a farmer boy

I seem to have acquired a little farmer boy, my nephew Damon. He likes to help feed the chickens and has a bucket of potatoes growing out back.

New Pup & Chicken Coop

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Last weekend I had a couple of days off. On Saturday I picked up the new pup and on Sunday I tried to work on the new coop. But the wind was blowing really crazy hard.

Carrying a hollow core door up there I nearly flew away with it!

trimming a hollow core door

I know the hollow core won't last as long outside as it would in a building, but hopefully with several coats of exterior paint will last a few years. Besides it was free and on it's way to the dump otherwise; my friend diverted this one and several others to me.  Because this coop is just over 6' at the top I had to trim quite a bit off the door; did you know that these doors have mostly cardboard supports in the center? With some solid wood on each side and just press board at the top and bottom. After trimming I cut a piece of solid wood to fill in the space at the bottom of the door. But it was so windy I could not hang the door or get any painting done.

Instead I decided I would board up the bottom of the end frames. This will help cut the wind and give it more stability.

yes that left hand side is leaning a lot; I just can't seem to get it up straight. Ah well it is what it is and it is good enough for chickens.

Since I usually work by myself I have discovered that my clamps come in handy as third hands when working on projects like this.

Giotto

I have named the new pup Giotto (pronounced jotto). He is very smart but already I see the stubborn streak coming. This is in all the information I have read about Livestock Guardian Dogs in general and Maremmas specifically. When it is something especially enticing, like digging in the wet flower pot or trying to play with eggs in the gathering basket it he will test me several times until he gets a thump on the nose. Even then he will continue to test if I really meant "no", but will stop it as soon as I call his name.

Yesterday we went to Tractor Supply Company. This was our second time there. The first time Giotto was scared and I had to put him in the cart. This time he walked on the leash. Afterwards we walked all the way around the shopping center, practicing "heel", "sit" and "leave it". Like I said he is very smart and he did very well for what amounted to his first time out for a real walk.

He still gets nervous and cries in the car so I will continue to take him for short trips so he can get over that. We have settled into as much of a routine as we can with my crazy job schedule. In general if I have a day shift I  go open the kennel and feed him breakfast while I feed the chickens, then he can run and play until I have to get ready for work. He really does not like it when it's time to kennel again. Sometimes I end up carrying him because he doesn't want to go. He makes me feel guilty looking at me with those sad puppy eyes like he has done something wrong.

In the afternoon he is out loose until dark, then back to the kennel. I don't want him to think he's a house dog, although he has free rein to come and go in the house, just not overnight. If I don't have to work he is out with me all day. Most of the time he lays by my chair when I'm on the computer or follows me around while I work outside.

New Coop, more progress!

Harmony the Farmer Girl with the new coop

Well finally got a break from my crazy job. My boss is back to work and arranged for me to have a 3 day weekend. Whooo Hoooo!

Plus I got out of work early Friday afternoon. After chores I headed for the valley to meet my daughter and oldest grand daughter, Miracle. Miracle likes to draw and had one of her pictures selected to be displayed at the school district's office. I ended up coming home with her baby sister, Harmony.


Harmony is really a farmer girl and game for most anything around here, even if it's a little icky. On Saturday morning we got up early and did all the chores, then headed for Scottsdale. A lovely young woman was moving out of state and I bought this cute little chicken coop from her. She threw in a ton of other chicken paraphernalia  along with a little white Silkie hen. (I seem to have become a Silkie magnet, people keep giving them to me!) Harmony helped me get it washed out and sprayed for bugs (just in case) and then we moved Miss Bianca the broody in with her 8 eggs.

Claire

Henrietta

We then returned the beautiful golden girls, Claire and Henrietta to their 'real' chicken mom, my friend Cindy. It was so funny to watch Henny jump up on the wall and talk to Cindy and get loves. Who says chickens aren't smart!




Claire and Henny will take a break from breeding over the summer. They will come back in the fall to visit with Claude so we can hatch more babies. When these two girls came to stay with me a couple of Easter egger pullets took their place at Cindy's to produce the breakfast eggs. So those two girls came home with me to rejoin the layer flock here.

In addition Cindy had two young cockerels from Henny and Claude that also came home with me to finish growing out. I'll have to get pictures of them tomorrow.

And today we slept a bit late, did chores and got going. Harmony helped me plant a seedling mulberry tree that sprouted up in one of my pots last year. It's sited so that in a couple of years it will help shade the kennels from the late afternoon sun.

The wind blew all day but it was cloudy and cool. We had to build a big berm on the downhill side. I am hoping this will help keep runoff water from washing the tree out. When we were done we had some delicious brownies baked by my friend Cindy for my birthday. Yummy ;-)

The Roof Goes on the Silkie Coop

rafters installed

Well as predicted I didn't get much of anything done on the little silkie coop during the week; just not enough day light after work.

Here's where I left off, with the rafters on, during the week I managed to put up the trim around the back vent and install one bird block.

Today I added the rest of the bird blocks and started on the roof.

roof decking going on

roof in progress

Like the rest of the coop the roof is not really square or quite flat. But with two or three layers of tar paper it ought to be weatherproof until I can get some sort of shingles or roofing on it.

hole in the floor

I also cut the hole in the floor for a sliding pop door to the bottom section of the coop.

Tomorrow I'll add several layers of tar paper to the roof, figure out how to make the supports for the sliding door and finish constructing that. Then I just need a door on the front and it will be done enough for the broody mamma to take up residence. If it doesn't all happen before dark, then broody mamma will spend a few days in the house while coop construction is completed, because the eggs are supposed to hatch on Monday!

And I still haven't spent a dime on this coop!