Look closely. It could be a statue. Waiting… waiting…

I didn’t see this heron catch a fish. Maybe the chickens did. They were watching, too.

I hope the heron was successful. The pond has too many goldfish! We keep the pump running all winter, and the water flows, but, during a very cold spell much of the pond freezes up. There’s always water in the “cave” under the big rock, but there’s not enough room for everyone – especially now that The Beast is so big.

This is a six-year old koi. I bought it for $2.99 when it was less than 2-inches long. Obviously, outdoor pond life agrees with her. It probably weighs more than the heron, and is at least as smart.

I have a tidy and organized barn. Not only do I like the way it looks, but it is essential for the care and health of my animals. This weekend, I finally did something that I’ve been thinking about for awhile. I store the animal feed in galvanized bins (necessary to keep the mice and bugs out.) I know which is which, but what if I’m not here? I have a pet sitter who has been trained by me, but what if she’s not available? What if there’s an emergency and I have to rely on a friend? Would she know the difference between scratch corn and goat feed? Diatomaceous earth and goat minerals? Goats can die from eating laying hen pellets. So, this is what I did, I put glaringly obvious yellow labels on every can:

Also, although I try to keep the goats out of this part of the barn, the boys like to squeeze past legs and jump around on the bins, tear at the hay bales and generally cause havoc. If you have goats, you can’t leave your tools laying about. I hang mine.

So far, the goats have not managed to knock these tools down – though, I’m sure they will look for opportunities to try and try again. BTW, that yellow-handled tool on the right is the fine-tined pitchfork that I’ve blogged about before. Quite useful for cleaning out coops bedded with wood shavings.

This is the time of year when many people clean out their barns and ready them for the winter. While you’re doing that, take a fresh look. What if someone who knows nothing about your chickens had to take care of them? What with my dogs, rabbit, chickens and goats, I know that someone couldn’t just walk in and figure out the daily routine. That’s why I’ve got three pages of directions typed up! And now I have labeled bins. So, if there’s an emergency, I’m ready. I think.

I’m not into horror movies, ghouls or scary things, but I do love Halloween. I can’t get enough of pumpkins (the head in this photos is a ghost pumpkin – it’s naturally white), piles of orange leaves, acorns plunking the roof of my car, and little children in adorable outfits. My 12 year-old son is at the tail end of being able to dress up and go trick-or-treating. He always comes up with his own ideas, and they’re always…um…interesting. This year’s costume requires several bags of Wonder Bread. (A product, that in itself, is quite scary!) I’m not exactly sure what he’s going to do with the bread, but I do believe that a bag of it will be on his head.

Happy Halloween!

Siouxsie

and Tina Turner.

They can’t sing like their namesakes, but they sure have attitude.

I thought you might want a catch-up and follow-up on the animals here at Little Pond Farm.

Although Eggers is better (she’s eating, drinking and hustles outside when there are treats) she still doesn’t seem vigorous to me. Partly, it’s because she’s on the very bottom of the pecking order, and so spends her days avoiding everyone. But, I don’t think that’s it entirely. Bantam White Leghorns are active, cheerful-looking birds. Eggers doesn’t seem to have that joie de vivre. Some chickens sulk when they molt. Yes, that’s anthropomorphic, but accurate. If your chicken is grumpy, you know it. Eggers is in a mood. I just don’t know if it’s health-related or not. I continue to keep a close eye on her.

Candy is six years old, and although some bunnies live much longer, she’s getting to the end of a normal rabbit life span. She’s now almost deaf, and so doesn’t have alert bunny behavior. She’s also quite confident and safe in her surroundings, so she doesn’t startle easily. Yesterday she was sprawled out in the sun – flat out on her side – legs stuck out. Honestly, she looked dead. But I could see her nose twitching and if I got close enough, I bet I could have heard her snore. Chickens were scratching nearby, but even chickens know not to wake a sleeping bunny, especially one that is on the top of the pecking order. Eventually, Candy roused herself, shook and hopped up. She looked quite refreshed after her nap.

By the way, we’ve removed the shade tarp that hung over her hutch in the summer. Now she can sunbathe in the doorway. We’ve also tacked black plastic to the sides of the the hutch, so her home is winterized.

After a false start of trying to integrate the punk rock girls into the big barn, they are doing fine in with the HenCam flock. They’ve even discovered that they are in the middle of the pecking order, not the bottom. Joy! No one has pecked their heads for a week. However, they’ve turned the roosting routine topsy-turvy. They now sleep where Marge and Petunia used to perch. The leghorns, instead of being on the second rung, now crowd into a nesting box.  The social order is settling out, but it’s not done yet.

I’ve got a long list of names for the new girls but am having the hardest time deciding. Yes, they do look like Phyllis Diller, and I remember thinking her very funny when I was young, but, honestly, that woman got way too scary after all of her cosmetic surgery. I like the name Lady Ga Ga, but my teenager said he’d be mortified if I named a hen that. He doesn’t mind Siouxie. Go figure. I promise to have them named by the end of the week.

The goat boys have done such a good job eating the brambles and golden rod that I spent yet another $150 on more electric fencing so that they could get to the further reaches of the meadow. Meanwhile, I bought ridiculously expensive pasture seed (timothy and alfalfa) to plant where the boys cleared. They’d rather eat weeds, so I don’t know why I bothered.

We’re having a particularly beautiful autumn. I hope you’re enjoying it from wherever you are.