The Twelfth Day of Homesteading Christmas

The 12 Days of Homesteading Christmas

On the First day of Christmas, my true love gave to meeeee,

A blind chicken in the pan-try.

On the Second day of Christmas, my true love gave to meeeee,

Two sparing bucks,

And a blind chicken in the pan-try.

On the Third day of Christmas, my true love gave to meeeee,

Three snotty noses (one with hay,)

Two sparing bucks,

And a blind chicken in the pan-try.

On the Fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to meeeee,

Four roosters raging,

Three snotty noses,

Two sparing bucks,

And a blind chicken in the pan-try.

On the Fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to meeeee,

Fiiiiiiivvvveee Beg-ging Doooooogs,

Four rowdy roosters,

Three snotty noses,

Two sparing bucks,

And a blind chicken in the pan-try.

On the Sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to meeeee,

Six acres to sqare bale,

Fiiiiiiivvvveee Beg-ging Doooooogs,

Four rowdy roosters,

Three snotty noses,

Two sparing bucks,

And a blind chicken in the pan-try.

On the Seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to meeeee,

Seven does a-moaning,

Six acres to square bale,

Fiiiiiiivvvveee Beg-ging Doooooogs,

Four rowdy roosters,

Three snotty noses,

Two sparing bucks,

And a blind chicken in the pan-try.

On the Eighth day of Christmas,  my true love gave to meeeee,

Eight Bob's a-swimming,

Seven does a-moaning,

Six acres to sqare bale,

Fiiiiiiivvvveee Beg-ging Doooooogs,

Four rowdy roosters,

Three snotty noses,

Two sparing bucks,

And a blind chicken in the pan-try.

On the Ninth day of Christmas,  my true love gave to meeeee,

Nine falling fenceposts,

Eight Bob's a-swimming,

Seven does a-moaning,

Six acres to sqare bale,

Fiiiiiiivvvveee Beg-ging Doooooogs,

Four rowdy roosters,

Three snotty noses,

Two sparing bucks,

And a blind chicken in the pan-try.

On the Tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to meeeee,

Ten bales of hay,

Nine falling fenceposts,

Eight Bob's a-swimming,

Seven does a-moaning,

Six acres to square bale,

Fiiiiiiivvvveee Beg-ging Doooooogs,

Four rowdy roosters,

Three snotty noses,

Two sparing bucks,

And a blind chicken in the pan-try.

On the Eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to meeeee,

Eleven loads of laundry,

Ten bales of hay,

Nine falling fenceposts,

Eight Bob's a-swimming,

Seven does a-moaning,

Six acres to square bale,

Fiiiiiiivvvveee Beg-ging Doooooogs,

Four rowdy roosters,

Three snotty noses,

Two sparing bucks,

And a blind chicken in the pan-try.

On the Twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to meeee,

.......FORGET THIS!!!

I'm moving back to the city!!!!!

The Eleventh Day of Homesteading Christmas

The 12 Days of Homesteading Christmas

 

On the Eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to meeeee,

Eleven loads of laundry,

Ten bales of hay,

Nine falling fenceposts,

Eight Bob's a-swimming,

Seven does a-moaning,

Six acres to square bale,

Fiiiiiiivvvveee Beg-ging Doooooogs,

Four rowdy roosters,

Three snotty noses,

Two sparing bucks,

And a blind chicken in the pan-try.

Seeing Eye Chicken

The skunk struck again. 

We lost four of the six PaddyMolly chicks to some sort of predator a couple of nights ago, and then another one keeled over the next evening, presumably from injuries sustained in that skirmish.  She had appeared weak, but figured she would be okay.

That leaves us with uno.

Ellie May has been visiting the City Cousin through all of this, and is going to be none too impressed when she comes home, i fear.

Soooo...i have thrown the two misfits together, and it seems to be a match made in heaven.

The banty chick has become a guide for the hen.   The chick goes to the food bowl and pecks on the side until Earl walks over in the direction of the sound and steps on the chick.  At this point she knows she must be close and starts feeling around until she finds the food.  Same process goes for the waterer.

 For her part, Earl gives the chick piggy back rides, and, when Jewels comes sniffing around, protects the chick under her wing. 

 Note the blank glare.  So far Jewels is buying the act and staying clear.

Never a dull moment, huh?

The Tenth Day of Homesteading Christmas

The 12 Days of Homesteading Christmas

On the Tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to meeeee,

Ten bales of hay,

Nine falling fenceposts,

Eight Bob's a-swimming,

Seven does a-moaning,

Six acres to square bale,

Fiiiiiiivvvveee Beg-ging Doooooogs,

Four rowdy roosters,

Three snotty noses,

Two sparing bucks,

And a blind chicken in the pan-try.

The Ninth Day of Homesteading Christmas

The 12 Days of Homesteading Christmas

On the Ninth day of Christmas,  my true love gave to meeeee,

Nine falling fenceposts,

Eight Bob's a-swimming,

Seven does a-moaning,

Six acres to square bale,

Fiiiiiiivvvveee Beg-ging Doooooogs,

Four rowdy roosters,

Three snotty noses,

Two sparing bucks,

And a blind chicken in the pan-try.

The Eighth Day of Homesteading Christmas

The 12 Days of Homesteading Christmas

On the Eighth day of Christmas,  my true love gave to meeeee,

Eight Bob's a-swimming,

Seven does a-moaning,

Six acres to sqaure bale,

Fiiiiiiivvvveee Beg-ging Doooooogs,

Four rowdy roosters,

Three snotty noses,

Two sparing bucks,

And a blind chicken in the pan-try.

Time Lapse

Okay, so i have admitted to you that i have been accused of having a "blatant disregard for time."

And i am alright with that.

Most of the time i don't have any idea what day of the week it is, let alone what day of the month it is.

It was the week of Thanksgiving before i flipped the calendar...the one that is prominent in the kitchen...over to November.

One day is the same  as the next when you have a mess of animals.  There is no weekend.  There is no vacation.  There is no time off.  Barn chores must be done whether it is Sunday or Christmas.  Or both :o)

But this still doesn't explain the huge boo boo regarding 12th Night. 

In the wee hours of this morning, while i was still snoozy, i was plotting my day, thinking, "I'll post "8 Bob's a-swimming," and then there will be four more left."  And then i ponder the fact that yesterday was Christmas.  And that Epiphany is on the 6th of January.  Always.

Have you been laughing at me, or just scratching your heads wondering what i was thinking?

I have NO idea how i worked out the timing of the start and ending of my little diddy.  I have been looking at the calendar, and it doesn't even work out to finish on the 31st of December, so that wasn't where my head was. 

The only thing i can say is that i was typing and setting it all up in the middle of the night one night when i couldn't sleep.  Perhaps i should have read, instead.

So we will just stay with what we got...I just wanted you to know that i KNOW when the Wise Men showed up...i just can't keep track of time.

It would appear that i could use some younger brain cells.
Or a vacation.