Friday Fun

Not so much.

There is much to be done about the farm today, and much mud to slog through while doing it!

The chicken house needs to be cleaned this weekend. We try to clean it every six weeks or so during the warm months. In late fall, though, we stop, and clean again sometime in March. We're told the composting manure helps keep the chickybirds warmer during the cold months, so there is a method to our laziness. But it's really nasty when it begins to warm up, which it is doing this week. This weekend is supposed to be cold, though, so it'll keep the smell down a bit while we clean.

Our chicken house has become something of a rat colony over the past few years. This year, I'd like to make some changes to make it less hospitable for the rats. The house is split into two small rooms; one is the actual coop, and the other is a small feed and garden tool storage area. We have pegboard on the walls, for hooks on which we hang the tools. I want to remove all the pegboard, behind which the rats are nesting. I also want to take out a set of shelves that have become pretty useless. The rats tend to hang out there, and I won't go near those vile things. Then I want to seal off the eave vents with new hardware cloth; various grackles, rats and other vermin have torn into them over the years. If I can get them sealed, and leave fewer hiding places for the rats, maybe I can get ahead of this. It's a long shot; anytime you have grain sitting out, you're going to get rodents. But I can try, right?

The chicken house also needs a new door, a new roof, (John is thinking metal this time) and a paint job. It is 10 years old, after all, and has had no attention during that time.

We're still moving tigerlilies, too.

I'll be working in the main pasture this weekend, also. The horses spent most of the winter there, so there is old hay to be moved to the compost, and lots and lots of manure. Oh joy! I also want to overseed.

So, if you're looking for something to do this weekend, you know where to look for activity!!