Turkey casualties, new pool, harvesting potatoes, rubberbands on goat, darn birds...

We just lost 2 turkeys--might as well get the bad news over first. And it was our fault. We had been let everyone sleep out in the night open air--they all find perches of their own--except the waterfowl--they just huddle up together on the ground (not because it's cold--that's for sure! They just like it). Our dog, Sarah, has done such a good job of keeping the coyotes and foxes away that I had no fear to leave them out--well turns out the one I needed to be afraid of was Sarah herself. She killed them both--we're sure. DH found one all chewed up by her normal chewing spot and the other was just killed lying dead by her other favorite chewing spot. And coyotes would never do that--they just grab-n-run. And they were the new poults--the heirloom bronze turkeys. The broadbreasted whites survived the massacre--although the tom has a big slash mark on his head where it looked like Sarah tried to get him! We were both real sad and upset when we found out. That was $18 worth of poults Sarah killed. And we just wern't being careful enough. She's always herding the animals--that's her nature--and the poults are wanderers--so if they wern't herding like she wanted them too she may have just killed them...DH says a guy at his work said that once a dog gets a taste for chicken it's bad news...so we're just taking all necessary precautions and everyone is getting locked up at night...it adds an extra 45 min or more to the evening farm chores but it's just what has to be done. Once those chickens learn their home that will shorten the time immensley! We decided not to buy new ones to replace them--we'll just wait until next year.

These are the last two surviving turkeys. Here's a picture of what I think is the tom--based on his darker coloring and personality I think he's the boy poult--the chickens and poults are 2 months old in the following pictures:

I think this one is the hen:

Here's a front view of the polish hen--the polish chickens have crazy feathers on top! I think she is going to be a hen...and I think the black one below (just to the right of the white ones) is going to be a rooster...the polish chickens and turkeys were a straight run at the store (meaning there is a 50-50 chance you'll get a male or female). If we do end up with a pair that won't be too bad--we'll just breed them and sell--they're pretty cute!This is a Barred Plymouth Rock hen--well two of them actually in the picture and also the tom and the polish hen
Here are the ducks and geese enjoying their new pool...well actually this was my kids' new pool but the poultry and waterfowl absconded it! But we didn't put up much of a fight--it is TOO much fun watching them swim! Some people will just get their waterfowl one of those little hard plastic toddler pools and all they can really do is sit in it--but you really gotta get them something they can float in and swim around--they go crazy! I am laughing almost have the time! One will start swimming around really fast and that gets them all going--you can tell they are having a ball! They are a month and a half in these pictures:
Is this where the phrase "I've got all my ducks in a row" comes from?
Here you can see the rubberbands really clearly on Ruth. We had our first hoof trimming and then shaved around the horns and put the rubberbands on. They are the castrator rubberbands but it even says on the bag they can be used for horns. We wanted to get them down even lower but there was no way. So she'll have a bit of a scur (a stub of a horn) but I just hope they don't re-grow back. They've gotten big fast. We probably should have waited until October when fly season has past but they would be SO much bigger by then (because they'll bleed even more). Since it's only one goat I think we'll be able to manage and keep the flies off. It would be harder if we had a whole herd I think. The first day Ruth just bleeted and bleeted. But she doesn't seem to be too bothered by them now--I bet they are a lot like when I had braces on my teeth and my teeth were being slowly pulled together. I'm sure it hurts but it seems a lot more humane than surgery (which is pretty much the only option at this point) and that would be traumatic, dangerous, and not to mention very expensive.Harvesting Potatoes

I know it is time to harvest potatoes when the stalks fall over and die...but what do you do when they are only about 6 inches high but rabbits and mice at them all?! Despite the fencing the baby bunnies and little ground squirrels can get in their and they chew them off right at the base! So I have no idea if the potatoes in the ground were going to rot or if they would even continue to keep growing...so I decided todig them up--I've been so curious anyway--what is in the ground?!

So me and the kids go out there and start digging--I immediately can see there is an amazing root system going on here--the tubers have made millions of these hair like roots all over--as far as I know that is really good for the soil because it aereates it and also adds organic matter. We keep on digging and all of a sudden I feel a BIG potato--the biggest I've ever seen! I dig it up only to realize...no wait...that's the VERY potato I planted! I guess I figured it wouldn't be there--rotted or been used for food or something..ok...so I keep digging...that was it. The other potato we planted--same thing--just those two potatoes. Except I think they are a LOT bigger. So weird. I planted them late February--I would have expected to see something....at least little potatoes--or something! Nothing. Just tons of hair like roots all through the soil. So I guess I really didn't lose anything--I loaned my potatoes to the ground for 2.5 months and they in turn improved the soil and it made my potatoes bigger--and I got them back! So I guess it's not a bad trade! I'll figure this gardening thing out some day...

Which brings me to those darn birds and bugs! We planted a garden (watermelon, peppers, beans, sunflowers, grass, flowers, corn, cantelope--all heat loving stuff) and between the birds and the bugs they have eaten every little shoot that pops up! It's so discouraging to till, sow, weed, water and water and water and then finally this amazing little shoot pops up only to be eaten! I'm reminded back to the Little House on the Prairie books where Pa tells Laura that he plants three times as much so that the birds will get some but he will too. (it was a neat little rhyme he said but I can't remember it). So we're going to have a big garden it's not economical to put covers on the rows (not to mention it would fry the plants) so I think we just need to plant more. And start them as seedlings inside so they are better established once they go outside. I'm open to ideas! Feel free to post! Well gotta go! Lots to do today! Laundry, dishes, juicing, and a horse fence to fix, kids to take care of and a plants to water and animals to feed....I could go on but I think I'll stop--you get the idea! oh and one last cute little pic of our lil' cowboy--wearing daddy's hat and shirt!