Diary Of A Country Girl

Conflicts With The Order Of Hymenoptera

Before Independence Day, we were set busily to work on the grounds of the property and household.  The drought that was endured earlier this summer prompted colonies of ants to invade our kitchen, sunroom and living room in search of food and water.  They are diligent, no doubt.  They never give up, no matter what squashing and spraying they have to endure.  Even though we have now received substantial amounts of rain, the ants don't mind hanging around to see what treats they can pick up for free from the kitchen counter.

On July 2nd Abigail and Mary helped me clean the Dominiques' coop.  While in the middle of that project we realized Joseph (who was mowing the lawn behind the kennel) had been ambushed by yellow jackets.  We ran to his rescue, diverting the hymenopteran militia.  Now at the driveway behind the garage, I told Joe to roll on the ground.  I quickly pulled off his shirt in order to prevent the embedded hornets from stinging further.  Just then one of the devilish beasts swiftly and accurately took aim and stabbed me soundly on the nose.  The venom was of an excruciating tension.  Joseph was stung seven times.  The doses of arnica and apis mellifica were helpful, but I still had to spend the 4th of July with an unbecomingly swollen nose.  Exactly two years ago to the date I was putting up with a swollen right foot from an encounter with a velvet ant (that is by far the most painful sting to my recollection - even worse than a jellyfish, which I've also felt).

My first experience with yellow jackets occured when I was about 4 years old in Ithaca, New York.  Two little neighborhood boys that I played with, Isaac and Erroll, lived just across the street from us.  They were warned by their father not to play in the woods that surrounded our houses.  They called the area by their yard their "Woods".  I called the area in our backyard my "Forest" (around that time Dad would occasionally read aloud some Tolkien to me).  Since we all badly wanted to play in the forbidden zone, I came up with a compromising facade.  "You can't play in your Woods," I began, "but maybe you can play in my Forest...".

Our trek ended when we unwittingly disturbed an army of yellow jackets.  The battle concluded with a painful retreat on our part.

The next summer when my family stayed in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, we were introduced to another division of wasp superiority.  While dining outside, very large maroon colored wasps would sometimes land on our plates.  Being extremely American in nature, valuing our right to consume in peace and liberty, our first impulse was to slay the impudent insects.  But our Uzbek maids, Luba and Olga, strictly forbid us to bother them.  "Let them have what they want!" was the policy in negotiating with Central Asian wasps.  We were warned that their sting was extremely painful.  The wasps thus carried out their thievery - actually picking up chunks of meat and flying off with them.  I have one recollection of walking under the arbor eating my shoshlik (meat and vegetables roasted on a skewer), and being confronted by one of the sting-bearing maffia.  It chased me until I finally threw down the skewer (which it dived after).  I wish I could find the sketches I made of them at the time.  I think they were scribbled on a piece of cardboard from a crayon box and are probably long gone.

Well, that's one post for summer.  I intend to make another one regarding the projects that have distracted me from the internet realm thus far.

GOD BLESS,

~Amanda~

Nothing Beats Rain

{ 05:27, Monday, July 2, 2007 } { 1 comments } { Link }

Rain does the most effective watering job.  You can water and water all you want, but when a nice, natural rain comes along, the plant kingdom pays so much more respect.

We had a series of showers and thunderstorms last week.  Nothing severe, but just right.  It is so hot around here.  Well, now that it's July, that is to be expected.  We need to clean out the Dominiques' coop and put some fresh straw bedding down.  We are also considering moving their poultry net fence a few feet to give them some more fresh earth to range on.

One of our hens is an impudent feminist...or something close to it.  She insists upon flying over the fence every single morning....and afternoon.  The roosters do not like it at all.  They are very protective and hate it when she flies out from their protection.  Sometimes our dog, Rex, has to help me catch her.  When she realizes that she is caught, she tries to squeeze through the squares in the fencing (which she is way too big for now) rather than fly over the way she came.  It's actually helpful when she gets stuck, because I can catch her more easily.  She puts up a loud racket and those roosters - at least one of them - come charging over to see what's become of her.  They can be very intimidating when they want to be.  It's funny to watch the flock interact.  The hens have a sort of alarm system to alert the roosters whenever they're upset.  If one escapes or is chased, they're all a'squawking.  The roosters strut around on patrol, watching what everyone is doing.

The other hens are content to stay within boundaries, and they don't cause much trouble.  We'll see which are the better mothers one day...

~Amanda~ 

Check out the updates of Fair Hills Farm!

 

Rooster Versus Man

{ 01:21, Tuesday, June 26, 2007 } { 4 comments } { Link }

Our young roosters have started crowing.  The other day our friends {the Bennetts} visited and played with the chickens along with my siblings.  Here is a glimpse of the festivities:

 

~Amanda~

Humid

{ 05:14, Monday, June 11, 2007 } { 4 comments } { Link }

Now, for one of the contrasts of the century.  The atmosphere enveloping our land has regained its moisture.  It is squelchingly hot, but we still received some rain from our gracious CREATOR recently.

The daylilies are blooming.  Blackberries are rising up about the pond and through the woods.  We have lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, okra, beans, asparagus, strawberries, zucchini, cucumbers, herbs, and, vigilant despite the heat, lettuce.  I'm sure I left something out of that list, but oh well.  We still have our six little blueberry plants from last year.  Mom has been mulching the young fruit trees.  Any Japanese Beetle that dares to come in sight gets crushed.

The chickens are fine.  The Dominiques like to hide out beneath the coop in the heat of the day.  The Red Stars want to be out - all the time, though that isn't feasible, because they have taken a liking to dusting in the flower gardens, regardless of the woodchips.

Photographs ought to be coming soon.  Benjamin's 1st Birthday is tomorrow.

~Amanda~

 

Parched

{ 11:17, Sunday, May 27, 2007 } { 1 comments } { Link }

The weather is entirely too dry and dusty.  There is smoke in the air drifting from the Florida and Georgia forest fires.  It is aggrevating to the senses.

Yesterday I began cleaning out the kennel.  I also cleaned out the Dominique coop and rearranged the nest boxes (even though they really don't need nest boxes yet).  Apparently water was spilling from the waterer and some how seeping down beneath its stand.  When I lifted it up, the straw was black and there were mushrooms growing in it!

I harvested our first batch of garden lettuce last evening.  We'll have to see how it tastes.

Farewell for now...

GOD BLESS,

~Amanda~

Summer Approaches

{ 06:04, Wednesday, May 16, 2007 } { 2 comments } { Link }

The weather has been unseasonably dry.  There were very few if any April showers, and May doesn't look particularly promising either.  We have been watering the yard and garden regularly to keep the young plants and seedlings from giving up.  We are blessed to have an in-ground sprinkler system for the garden that is connected to our well. 

The well water is nice for the garden.  However, it is sad to see the pasture, which we were anticipating intensifying, look so barren.  The evenings are chilly due to lack of humidity.  Even the herbs seem to be discontented with the desert like conditions.  The chickens have been drinking a lot.

We finally received some rain this morning (thank YOU, LORD!).  The storm scatters hither and yon (typical).  We had company last week, so we have been busy inside and out.

Dad found several wooden crates about two weeks ago when he went to pick up some wood chips for mulch.  He brought them home as well, figuring that they would make good nest boxes for the Dominiques.

Mom placed a plastic terra cotta pot upside down in the Dominique coop to use as a stand for the waterer.  It has improved the sanitation of the water greatly.  We will probably eventually have to suspend the feeder from the rafters in order to prevent the feed from being buried in the straw bedding.

I will have to take some more photographs soon...the young chickens are almost 12 weeks old now! 

Farewell...and may GOD BLESS,

~Amanda~

Website And Blog Ads

{ 09:04, Thursday, April 26, 2007 } { 2 comments } { Link }

Alright...no one laugh.  I spent alot of time and creative energy on these mediocrities, so they must live up to something.  They could have been better...I may yet make some that are better.  But nevermind that for now.  If anyone wants to do ad-trading, you will receive my "Yea" providing that we come to a sensible agreement.

NOTE: In order for the codes to work, you must remove the spaces in before/after the  < a, < img, and < a/> signs.

Fair Hills Farm banner:

 HTML Tag:

< a href="http://www.fairhillsfarm.com/"> < img alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m200/SincerelyAmanda/FairHillsFarm_boxad.jpg" /> < /a>

Fair Hills Farm Box Ad:

 HTML Tag:

< a href="http://www.fairhillsfarm.com/"> < img alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m200/SincerelyAmanda/FairHillsFarm_boxad.jpg" /> < /a>

&nbsp;HTML Tag:

My HomeschoolBlogger Blog Ad:

HTML Tag:

 

< a href="http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/SincerelyAmanda"> < img alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m200/SincerelyAmanda/sincerelyamanda_blogad.jpg" /> < /a>

My HomesteadBlogger Ad:

 HTML Tag: 

 

< a href="http://www.homesteadblogger.com/SincerelyAmanda"> < img alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m200/SincerelyAmanda/homesteadbloggerad-1.jpg" /> < /a>

If you are interested in using one of the above but they are simply too large, I can adapt them if necessary.

We had a pleasant, stormy rain today that was much appreciated.  The Dominiques enjoy being let out (understandable), but they can still squeeze through the poultry fencing, as they are not adult sized yet.  They learned how to return to the coop on their own very quickly (I'm quite thankful for that!).

The Red Star hens are doing well, but some still struggle with the temptation to eat their own eggs.  I started sprinking hot pepper in the cracked eggs to discourage them from the disgraceful habit.  At least they don't break as many as they used to (on average).

I must depart for now...

GOD BLESS,

~Amanda~

 

A Brief Post To Say...

{ 06:03, Friday, April 20, 2007 } { 2 comments } { Link }

The Fair Hills Farm logo has been made.  I wrote a post about it on my homeschoolblogger, which turned out to be shorter than it was originally because my first writing regarding it was erased, much to my frustration.

I need to go let the Dominiques out for a run and clean out the coop.

GOD BLESS,

~Amanda~

Of Storms And Stumblings

{ 01:07, Saturday, April 14, 2007 } { 4 comments } { Link }

The young chickens are extremely eager to run out on pasture.  I have not yet given them that freedom because they are still able to slip through the poultry fence we have up for them.  Hopefully we will be able to let them out next week or so.  They are around 6 weeks of age right now.

A storm is approaching.  The entire State of Alabama will be covered with rain and thunder for sometime, supposedly.  This morning dawned as cloudy and warm.  Beth and I sat on the front porch for awhile.  We have a Bluebird couple residing in one of our birdhouses.  The cats haven't bothered them yet.  The birdhouses and feeders are on a considerably high post, which makes them more secure.

As I carried a bucket of water and a bucket of feed to the Dominiques this morning, I tripped over two inconspicuous, skinny little stumps.  My bulky rubber chore boots did not help my balance by any means.  I was on the ground before I knew what happened; my left arm soaking wet from the water that spilled.  The water splashed up so high that even the roof of the coop was drenched.  I spilled most of the feed too.  It was a very unprofitable event.  Beth was with me, and she dutifully began picking up handfuls of the spilled feed and attempted to fill the bucket back up.  I wasn't hurt at all, and began laughing uncontrollably.  Even after I refilled everything and returned to the task I was still laughing.  Beth said most articulately, "Why laugh so much?".

Dad is coming home from his deep sea fishing trip today.  He should be home any minute, and I know that he will want to get on his laptop computer.

Farewell for now.

GOD BLESS,

~Amanda~

Moving Forward, Fair Hills Farm Style

{ 06:30, Wednesday, April 4, 2007 } { 3 comments } { Link }

There are times when plans that have been long held as ideals become resolved.  Today was one such time; yesterday was its prequel.

The new chicken coop - or  barn, rather, as we enjoy calling it - arrived yesterday. 

Mom and I spent the rest of the day painting and staining it until it became a masterpiece.  Its color palette is a fine representative of our farm colors.

But the energetic, long-suffering 5 week old chicks ought to be the most grateful.  Until today, they spent the majority of their time in a stuffy brooder which was too short for them to flap around in.  One bale of straw covered the entire floor of this 8' x 8' building, thus resulting in a comfy, deep bedding.

Elizabeth Linda playing with the chicks, not surprisingly.  She stars in many photos.

In this video you might notice that my hand is dotted with dark wood stain - Rachel told me I looked like a giraffe after all the painting and staining was done.

 

We are scheduled to another Noccalula Falls Easter picnic - pardon me, I should have said FirstFruits picnic.  The term "Easter" has nothing to do with CHRIST.  Rather, it alludes to the name of the Babylonian goddess of fertility, "Ishtar".  The celebration of fertility (involving bunnies and egg hunts) is a tradition that the Israelites adopted while in Babylonian captivity.  The original celebration of JESUS's Resurrection ought to be given the Biblical title, "Feast of FirstFruits" {1 Corinthians 15:20}.

Culture has an odd way of impacting the Church, however.  Old habits die hard.

Portable poultry fencing from Premier 1.  Ah, well.  Until we get the ideal board fence.

GOD BLESS,

~Amanda~

 

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