Midtown Ranch

Mama and two calves in front of our house. And crazed Cardigans.

I love that smack dab in a city of many hundreds of thousands of people, moose and (rarely) bear walk through our circle.

A memory was niggling at me and I finally recalled it.

I bought a Shetland pony named Spirit with my paper route earnings when I was 11. She bucked. A lot. And was unridable. I broke her to harness and she helped me do my paper route every day. On Sunday mornings we would finish the paper route at the Circle K next to her pasture. She would wait outside while I bought a hot chocolate and a donut to share.

There’s a point to this nonsense. I promise.

Spirit grew to love our Circle K visits. She discovered that she could leap into the compost bin in the corner of her pasture, and from there she could leap out of her pasture.
She would trot next door to the Circle K and stand by the door until somebody opened it. Then she would amble inside looking for a donut and her hot chocolate.

Thank you Barbara for sharing your Ellie in the compost bin story which prompted this memory to resurface.

More stuff completed this evening. This looks like a lot but most of these things were 10-15 minute tasks.

• Attached a silver tarp to the top of the rabbit roof to reflect the sun and reduce the temp under the roof.
• Set up a fan to blow during day to keep rabbits cool.
• Planted half of the garden pea seedlings.
• Gathered a tote of manure and uneaten hay bits from under the rabbits and spread around the invading raspberries.
• Installed Waste Control System 1.0 – I expect to make multiple changes as I figure out how to let the urine flow out to buckets and the poop separate so the odor stays under control. The urine is supposed to be great at heating up compost piles so if you are in Anchorage and want to try that with your compost pile, come get pee. Rabbits pee about a cup a day, so I’ll be collecting a quart a day probably. Plenty to go around.
• Power washed the pool (again), patched the hole, leveled -kind of- the legs, installed the filtration system and started filling the pool. Scott and E were big helps with this.
• Mowed the lawn with Scott’s aid.
• E set up and installed the yellow jacket trap and the fly trap.
• Set up the Mosquito Magnet.
• Played with rabbits, chicks, and a wonderful child.
• Watered plants.
• The soffets are too well insulated with the 1×6 boards I installed in the coop resulting in hot chicks. Spent some time fiddling with options so I don’t cook the babies.
  
  What is next?
• Moving all the detritus away from the house.
• Installing the tool racks I uninstalled several years ago when I painted the garage wall.
• Put the outdoor tools up properly.
• Set up a wood rack to get my bits and pieces of lumber off the ground and semi-organized.
• Fertilize and reseed the lawn.
• Plant potatoes – I better get that done ASAP if we want a harvest.
• Plant the kale and lettuce.

Almost there. Will be in maintenance mode pretty quickly.
I hope my Chantecler eggs arrive soon.

Modest progress tonight. Completed unit 7 assignments for school. Cut and installed six 1×6 boards to block the open soffits on the coop. Provided Dusky with ample supplies for her nest building endeavors. Weed whacked the ridiculously long grass on the side yard then drug a 30’ section of old pool wall as a weed blocker. Scott shifted three of the tomatoes into this newly created space. I have a hunch the reflected heat from the house south facing wall will yield fruit. If it doesn’t scorch them.

Weed whacked the front strip on the road. Weed whacked the area of the yard we keep dog free for E. Lots of long grass left for another day.

Had a followup visit for my brain stuff leftover from the 2014 car crashes.
-snipped-

Enjoyed working with the rabbits and chicks with E. There is a calmness to doing simple husbandry chores that is sweet in my soul.

Haystache. Dusky is readying her nest.

Got a tiny bit done tonight.

End triangles of the coop are insulated. All rabbits are on automatic watering system. Chicks are moved into brooder in coop on a bucket waterer. Over deep shavings so no more 3x a day poop cleanup or changing their water.

Yay to fewer livestock chores!

Roof is complete. I’d have preferred a light colored opaque roof but <shrug> not an option. I’ll make a sun shade so I don’t bake the rabbits. They’ll appreciate the light come winter. Need to run watering lines to buck side. Need to set up waste management system. Hen house is empty and airing out. E is delighted to have a playhouse (temporarily). While I wanted to move the chicks into a brooder into the hen house tonight, I’m happy I did the deep cleaning instead.

Tired.

Deeeeep cleaning the henhouse. Pulling out the insulation and peeling away the feed bags that protected the insulation from the incessant pecking of hens. Pulling all the staples.

Why oh why did 37 year old me think that I needed a staple every inch or two?!?

It’s just as disgustingly mouse poopy bird dandery fine dust nasty as you can imagine.

I am finding the best use for my Covid mask ever.

I like this before / after (incomplete) image.
Precious Treasures moved. Power wash and paint. Gate pulled to be shifted closer to hen house and widen run a couple inches. Roof extension up – incomplete. Watering system installed (incomplete). Rabbits installed (incomplete).
Next steps – complete the extension. Arrange a manure / urine separation and collection system to manage odor. Chicken proof the tops of the rabbit cages. Chicken proof the run. Install the gate. Create covered accessible rodent proof cover for the feed. Create a weatherization plan to ensure optimum comfort for rabbits and winter chore efficiency. Cover existing hen door to run and cut a new door. Build then Install new nest boxes that permit egg gathering without entering coop. Hang tarp to limit rabbit visibility from the road (would you believe people have had their animals stolen?). Tidy detritus scattered across yard. Finish cleaning coop and install the chicks.
Whuf. I’m tired thinking about it. Listing it out keeps me motivated.
Clean house somewhere in there. Laundry is done-ish however the rugs need a wash and floor needs sweeping.

Raining. Got second stringer installed. Posts are whacky, rafters are wrong size, poly corrugated sheets have wrong profile and I can’t honky hack it. Profile is similar to 2007 roof, I will have to find the correct profile to complete this.

The rain necessitated getting the bucks into the rabbitry even in its imperfect incomplete state. The chicks are a week old and have attained vertical lift. Juggling the rabbits frees the 24×24 cage / outdoor brooder (after its scrubbed and disinfected). I’ll move the chicks to this in the hen house (with heat lamp) probably tomorrow.

I’m soaked. Should’ve put on my rain gear…