It rained and it blew and it rained some more. Water poured off the roof, leaves came down and the pond filled to the brim. The chickens were annoyed to be kept inside. The goats were mollified with hay.
But, we never lost power and didn’t sustain any dramatic damage.
The weather the rest of this week is supposed to be gorgeous up and down the Eastern Seaboard. That’s great, because we’re heading down to Washington DC to take our youngest son to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and go on a tour of the Capitol. It’s been a long-planned for trip. We’re amazed and relieved that DC was spared. I’ve a feeling that DC won’t have the usual summer crowds as nearby communities of several hundred thousand people don’t yet have power. It’s our civic duty to help the economy by visiting!
A pet-sitter will be here taking care of the menagerie. I’ll catch up with everyone next week!
Glad you got off lightly Terry, you were in my thoughts! Enjoy D.C.
Your son will love the Air and Space Museum. DC is a magnificent city. I’m from the burbs near there, originally. Enjoy the journey!
Terry, I thought of you often when I watched the news. I’m glad worry and preperation are all you had to deal with.
I saw video this morning from Vermont. WOW!!!!!
Glad all is well after the storm. Enjoy D.C., we lived near it for 3 years and often had visitors wanting to see everything. I will never forget my late Dad’s face when he saw the “Spirit of St. Louis”! He was a young man when that flight happened. Even the space vehicles didn’t impress him as much.
We got off lightly. Ken, Vermont is devastated! Many of those roads you see washed away are the only way to reach those small towns.
DC is a very cool place!! Have fun!! How did Candy handle the storm??
Glad you all survived!!! Just WOW! about poor Vermont!!!
I’m about 1 1/2 hours from DC and yes! the weather this week is supposed to be fantastic! Enjoy your trip…the A &S Museum will not disappoint!
What do hens do if they are mad at you ? I doubt they will keep a grudge like some cats will. Or turn their back to you like our dog Morgan does if he is miffed. I doubt they are smart enough to realize it annoys people to poop on them, unlike some birds.
Chickens live in the moment. They don’t hold grudges and they don’t play mind games. It’s one of the reasons they’re so fun to be around.
Will you make it to Arlington? That is someplace I would like to see…Glad you are alive and well and all the critters are OK! Have fun!
Glad to hear you all made it through safe and sound. Have fun in DC. You could spend a week at the Smithsonian. And, yes, the Spirit of St. Louis is pretty awesome!
Phew! :-)
I’m not sure if it was when the storm hit, but it was interesting that the chickens were all a bit jumpy, and the goats were just lying there chewing their cuds, cool as cucumbers.
Oh yeah- D.C.- I recommend the Museum of Natural History. Great place! I wish I could spend a week there!
Hi Terry,
I hope D.C. was fun. When you get a chance my chickens are the same age as yours and I was wondering when you think I might be able to expect some eggs. One of them has has her comb and wattles for some time now and they’re quite red. The others have been taking their sweet time, but one of my black austrolopes does that squat dance thing, whatever you call it. Just curious what you think….
Depending on the breed, your pullets will start to lay between 20 and 25 weeks of age. But, as we’re getting into shorter daylight hours, some might wait until February. I think you’ll be finding eggs soon, I sure hope to!
Thanks Terry,
I hope so too. We have two Buff orphingtons, 2 black austrolope’s, 2 golden wyanadottes and 2 partridge rocks.
We did put electricity in our coop and plan on heating it and lighting it so we can hopefully get some eggs during the winter months. Do you recommend any certain light? Haven’t quite figured out how we’re going to heat it and make sure its safe at the same time.
Love my chicks!
glad everyone is okay we didnt get much here in loris sc
Your breeds are winter hardy and don’t require heat. As long as the coop is draft-free and well-ventilated, they’ll do fine. A dim, 40 watt bulb is enough for light. I recommend having it at a timer to turn on early in the morning. If you have a light on at night they don’t know to roost, and then the light turns off suddenly and they’re stuck in the dark on the floor!
Sounds good, My husband was going to put the light on a timer. We thought the temperature had to be above 40 degrees and 12-16 hrs. of light for them to lay in the winter. Is that not true?
Sounds like your August was a lot of fun! My oldest son is home taking classes at a community college and my middle son is off to URI this Sunday. My youngest son is a sophomore in high school and loves anything to do with astronomy! Thanks for you wonderful blog!
Hens need 14 hours of light for optimum laying. While a warmer barn will give you a few more eggs, the winter hardy breeds can lay right through without heat. I don’t think the cost and danger of heating a barn is worth the few extra eggs. But, the light bulb does help – that is for young hens. In my experience, the old hens stop laying regardless.