I'm down in Wilton right now, spending a couple days down here. I had some things I wanted to do for myself (process peaches and plums, check chickens, start packing chicken stuff) and I also came down to give my mom a hand with a few of her projects. So I've gotten a ton of stuff done but still have a very full schedule tomorrow.
I can't remember if I already wrote about this, but I had released the peafowl about a week and a half ago. They seemed ready, and Nara had healed up extremely well from her broken leg. They came and went for a few days, and then they went... and haven't been back... for almost a week. It's easy, and unpleasant, to think that something may have caught them, and yes it's possible and yes I knew the risks, but since I knew they were fine for several days, and I would see them foraging far from the house, I think the more likely scenario is they have wandered off and found some place they like better. Peafowl are notorious for this. My peafowl-experienced friends have also told me it's not unusual for them to immediately disappear for a week or even two, exploring as far as they can, before they return home and stick around. I sincerely hope that's what they are up to. They are such totally cool birds, it makes me sad to think they might not come back, so keep your fingers crossed that they're just out on walkabout for a while. Or, if they decided to live down by the creek where it's shadier and cooler, I wouldn't blame them, and then at least I could walk down there and visit them.
I brought Olin with me when I drove down here, I didn't want to leave him alone in the loft for that many days. He does not like being alone, so I thought he'd be happier coming back here. He does seem rather happy, he promptly went outside and I hadn't seen him until finally he came in this evening! Mom said she saw him twice between then and now though. I jokingly said to her that we may end up with shared custody of him, and if he doesn't show up when I'm ready to leave, that may well be true... he'll end up staying down here for a while. And truth is I still wonder if leaving him here would be better for him anyway. I know he's not happy being indoors all the time, and he definitely drives me crazy with all that meowing. I know that's a hard transition and I know it would take time, obviously more than a month. I don't know, sigh. If he stays here gets to be outside and around Homer (Mom's cat), but he doesn't have a person he likes all that much. If I keep him with me, he stays indoors, but I've always been "his person" he's so affectionate with me. He is SO dear to me, I don't want to leave him behind, but I don't know how much time it will take for him to be happy up there, or if he ever would. I guess with the peafowl gone, putting him out in their old aviary sometimes is an option. I just don't want to let him loose, he wanders like crazy, and there are way too many predators. Could I really only see my little boy a few times a year for the rest of his life though? I don't like this idea...
As you remember, my horse Shylah moved up to Oak Run with me, but my old mare Gwen stayed here in Wilton. Gwen is not doing well. Age is definitely catching up to her, and she has the looks of some pretty serious heart trouble. I think I'm seeing the beginning of the end. It won't happen right now, I'm not ready to say "it's time" but I'm saying it's time to figure out the options, because I think it will be time pretty soon. I HATE this.
Dang, this is really not the cheeriest blog post is it. There are good things this weekend too! I've had a good time visiting family and friends! Yeah, okay, I'll just go to bed before this gets even more depressing.
Showing posts with label the peafowl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the peafowl. Show all posts
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Monday, July 09, 2012
peafowl update and other things
Peafowl: After three weeks of being crated after breaking her leg, I let Nara out of the crate and into the aviary last Monday. She'd been starting to put some weight on the leg and use it for scratching herself, so it seemed like the right time to allow some mobility. She'd seemed pretty content in the crate all along, very calm. She came out quietly, and unlike chickens there was no drama amongst the birds. Omar and Jovi both came up to her and they did a lot standing around quietly with their heads together. Funny birds. And Nara still definitely outranks Jovi.
She continues to make progress. She's walking on the broken leg, though she has a severe limp, and I don't think the bone healed straight. But that she's putting her weight on it after just, well, now four weeks, that's impressive. They will stay penned up in the aviary for at least probably another month. I won't release them until she is as healed as she'll get, and until they are totally settled down. They are MUCH more calm now, consistently coming up to me for treats, rarely pacing, etc. Omar has started to display a lot more often, though they are still very quiet (which tells me they're not settled in yet, he gets pretty loud when he feels like he has a territory of his own!).
I think Nara will likely always limp. I just need to be sure that she is able to roost at night. Time will tell.
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Chickens: I haven't seen them for almost a month now. They're still down at my mom's place in Wilton. I'll head down this coming weekend to check on things and take as many as I can to auction. I'm not sure when they'll be coming up here, but I look forward to that happening. The new chicken coop is currently in a pile in the driveway; it's one of those metal carports. All in due time, and in the mean time I'll be back and forth every few weeks...
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Other animals: I miss them. My old mare Gwen stayed down in Wilton, and there she will live until the time comes for her to go to the great pasture in the sky. A few times in the last few years, I've thought that time was imminent, but thus far she's proven me wrong... Of course I miss Angus, my walking buddy. A lot of my friends were aghast that he wasn't coming with me, but believe me there is NO way that would have worked. I live in less than 400 square feet of space, atop what I affectionally refer to as the "stairway of doom" because it's really more ladder than stairs. That's not a combination of features that would work for 104 pounds of flatulent dog.
And of course I miss the heck out of the cats, particularly Olin. I am still planning to bring Olin up here to live with me. I second-guess this all the time. He's been an indoor/outdoor cat all his life, he would have to be indoor-only here (too many things that would want to eat him). He would miss the other cat, Homer. I have to wonder if I'm really being fair to him, but if you've ever had a special bond with a particular animal, then you know how I feel without him here. It's like I've left a body part behind, I need him. And in the back of my mind I know that if it just totally didn't work, if he was miserable and made me miserable too, he could always go back to Wilton, and I'd see him when I'm down there. But I'm his human, the only one he really is friendly toward. So I think he needs me too. :-)
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Life up here: Well, it's hot. But it's hot down in the Sacramento Valley too. Actually it's been rainy up here a few times, which is totally cool. It's so beautiful up here, I go out walking or riding and absolutely marvel at the view. Lassen in one direction, Shasta in another. The loft is sooooo close to totally unpacked. I'm living in it, have been for... uh, maybe two weeks now? It's a pretty awesome space, I have to say. :-) The last of the shelves were just put up yesterday, so I unpacked a few more boxes this morning. Of course that means it's a disaster zone again, so I need to find the time to get it all tidied up and vacuumed for the umpty-billionth time. And then I'll be ready for visitors!
I still feel weird using the word "home" for any particular location. It'll happen, but life still feels strange. I've been up here as a visitor so many times in the last 10 (11?) years, there's this strange little "shouldn't I be going home soon?" feeling as though I don't want to overstay my welcome, but well, here I am, they're stuck with me. :-) I'm trying hard to get back into a normal routine though... gettin' there... I seem to have misplaced a number of items (how?! They have to be within this space!!) and there's still a long list of things I need to get.
I really wanted to throw myself a small going-away party down in Wilton, but I feel like it's too late now. Other than moving the birds and a few odds and ends, I'm already gone. Blarg, I don't know... There are lots of people I miss... What do you think, too late? Can't very well have a house-warming, nobody would drive all the way up here! ;-)
Okay, back to work. I'll show you some progress on a new drawing tonight if I can.
She continues to make progress. She's walking on the broken leg, though she has a severe limp, and I don't think the bone healed straight. But that she's putting her weight on it after just, well, now four weeks, that's impressive. They will stay penned up in the aviary for at least probably another month. I won't release them until she is as healed as she'll get, and until they are totally settled down. They are MUCH more calm now, consistently coming up to me for treats, rarely pacing, etc. Omar has started to display a lot more often, though they are still very quiet (which tells me they're not settled in yet, he gets pretty loud when he feels like he has a territory of his own!).
I think Nara will likely always limp. I just need to be sure that she is able to roost at night. Time will tell.
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Chickens: I haven't seen them for almost a month now. They're still down at my mom's place in Wilton. I'll head down this coming weekend to check on things and take as many as I can to auction. I'm not sure when they'll be coming up here, but I look forward to that happening. The new chicken coop is currently in a pile in the driveway; it's one of those metal carports. All in due time, and in the mean time I'll be back and forth every few weeks...
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Other animals: I miss them. My old mare Gwen stayed down in Wilton, and there she will live until the time comes for her to go to the great pasture in the sky. A few times in the last few years, I've thought that time was imminent, but thus far she's proven me wrong... Of course I miss Angus, my walking buddy. A lot of my friends were aghast that he wasn't coming with me, but believe me there is NO way that would have worked. I live in less than 400 square feet of space, atop what I affectionally refer to as the "stairway of doom" because it's really more ladder than stairs. That's not a combination of features that would work for 104 pounds of flatulent dog.
And of course I miss the heck out of the cats, particularly Olin. I am still planning to bring Olin up here to live with me. I second-guess this all the time. He's been an indoor/outdoor cat all his life, he would have to be indoor-only here (too many things that would want to eat him). He would miss the other cat, Homer. I have to wonder if I'm really being fair to him, but if you've ever had a special bond with a particular animal, then you know how I feel without him here. It's like I've left a body part behind, I need him. And in the back of my mind I know that if it just totally didn't work, if he was miserable and made me miserable too, he could always go back to Wilton, and I'd see him when I'm down there. But I'm his human, the only one he really is friendly toward. So I think he needs me too. :-)
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Life up here: Well, it's hot. But it's hot down in the Sacramento Valley too. Actually it's been rainy up here a few times, which is totally cool. It's so beautiful up here, I go out walking or riding and absolutely marvel at the view. Lassen in one direction, Shasta in another. The loft is sooooo close to totally unpacked. I'm living in it, have been for... uh, maybe two weeks now? It's a pretty awesome space, I have to say. :-) The last of the shelves were just put up yesterday, so I unpacked a few more boxes this morning. Of course that means it's a disaster zone again, so I need to find the time to get it all tidied up and vacuumed for the umpty-billionth time. And then I'll be ready for visitors!
I still feel weird using the word "home" for any particular location. It'll happen, but life still feels strange. I've been up here as a visitor so many times in the last 10 (11?) years, there's this strange little "shouldn't I be going home soon?" feeling as though I don't want to overstay my welcome, but well, here I am, they're stuck with me. :-) I'm trying hard to get back into a normal routine though... gettin' there... I seem to have misplaced a number of items (how?! They have to be within this space!!) and there's still a long list of things I need to get.
I really wanted to throw myself a small going-away party down in Wilton, but I feel like it's too late now. Other than moving the birds and a few odds and ends, I'm already gone. Blarg, I don't know... There are lots of people I miss... What do you think, too late? Can't very well have a house-warming, nobody would drive all the way up here! ;-)
Okay, back to work. I'll show you some progress on a new drawing tonight if I can.
Tuesday, June 05, 2012
Nara needs some well-wishes
Catching the peafowl at night to move them, as was suggested to me, turned out not to be the right thing to do. In hindsight, I think they would have handled that much better in daylight when they could have seen that it was me, but I was trying to do what I thought was easier on them. Talk about backfiring.
Nara broke her leg that night, and I feel terrible about it. Totally breaks my heart, and I feel like it's my fault. It was awful catching them that night, they were terrified, they all shot straight up into the air and crashed down hard. I didn't know until Saturday that she was injured, and I wish I had simply caught them in the morning instead when they could see their surroundings and see that it was me.
They are in a nice big pen in the shade of an oak tree up in Oak Run now, and understandably freaked out. I have to keep reminding myself that they paced around a lot when I moved them the first time, months ago. I left Nara alone for a couple of days, hoping she would start to improve, and not wanting to stress her out more by catching her again. But this morning I felt that she was looking more lethargic, whereas Omar and Jovi are ceaselessly pacing (actually, they were starting to calm down a little by today, particularly Jovi). So Jen and I cornered and caught Nara, which was a good bit easier than I anticipated. She does indeed have a broken leg. It's not in a place that can be splinted (up high on the "drumstick" near the thigh joint), but I was worried that she was just getting too stressed out having to move around to get food and water, and getting bumped into by the other two. So we went ahead and put her in a crate with easy access to food and water. I have to say that once she was caught she was extremely calm. I checked on her before I left there today (I'm back in Wilton right now, gotta get some rest, do some laundry, and get ready to leave for Blade Show early Thursday morning) and she looked totally serene, sitting in the crate looking out at the other two birds.
It will take some time for them all to settle in. They are like different birds again, won't get near me. The timing is terrible, what with me not heading back up there for over a week. They're very sensitive as to who they know and who they don't. They are in excellent hands with "Dr. Jen" but my poor Nara, so sad!
She has a long recovery ahead of her, and they won't be released to free-range for a lot longer than I had originally planned. Send some good thoughts her way!!!
Nara broke her leg that night, and I feel terrible about it. Totally breaks my heart, and I feel like it's my fault. It was awful catching them that night, they were terrified, they all shot straight up into the air and crashed down hard. I didn't know until Saturday that she was injured, and I wish I had simply caught them in the morning instead when they could see their surroundings and see that it was me.
They are in a nice big pen in the shade of an oak tree up in Oak Run now, and understandably freaked out. I have to keep reminding myself that they paced around a lot when I moved them the first time, months ago. I left Nara alone for a couple of days, hoping she would start to improve, and not wanting to stress her out more by catching her again. But this morning I felt that she was looking more lethargic, whereas Omar and Jovi are ceaselessly pacing (actually, they were starting to calm down a little by today, particularly Jovi). So Jen and I cornered and caught Nara, which was a good bit easier than I anticipated. She does indeed have a broken leg. It's not in a place that can be splinted (up high on the "drumstick" near the thigh joint), but I was worried that she was just getting too stressed out having to move around to get food and water, and getting bumped into by the other two. So we went ahead and put her in a crate with easy access to food and water. I have to say that once she was caught she was extremely calm. I checked on her before I left there today (I'm back in Wilton right now, gotta get some rest, do some laundry, and get ready to leave for Blade Show early Thursday morning) and she looked totally serene, sitting in the crate looking out at the other two birds.
It will take some time for them all to settle in. They are like different birds again, won't get near me. The timing is terrible, what with me not heading back up there for over a week. They're very sensitive as to who they know and who they don't. They are in excellent hands with "Dr. Jen" but my poor Nara, so sad!
She has a long recovery ahead of her, and they won't be released to free-range for a lot longer than I had originally planned. Send some good thoughts her way!!!
Saturday, March 31, 2012
I actually am still alive
You wouldn't know it by the lack of blog postings for the last two weeks though, would you. Ummm yeah, sorry about that. I seem to have a lot on my plate right now. And then I was thinking well what's a blog without pictures, and that means walking over to the OLD computer to use my website software so I can upload stuff, and then I finally realized that oh yeah duh I can just log into my web host and upload pics that way. Sometimes I'm not the brightest bulb. ;-)
So the big question, which I think I was actually asked by three different people today, is when am I moving. The answer: I'm not quite sure. Soon. When it's ready... I was up there last weekend helping out with sheet rock (can I put that on my resume now?). There's still quite a lot to do, and the actual move process is going to take a while, what with the horses and birds and stuff and everything. I need to hire someone to help with chicken coop construction. Unfortunately my handy people here are, well, HERE. And there is nearly 200 miles away. Still pondering how that's all gonna work!
Anyway, it'll happen when it happens. I'm the obsessive sort who wants to make plans for EVERYTHING even though I know that doesn't usually work, so I'm trying to go with the flow even though I'm not good at that. There's no rush though, no deadline. I've started in on a cleaning/organizing spree though, and will start packing the non-essential stuff. There's nothing like thinking "do I really want to pack this, move it, unpack it, and find a place to put it?" to make a person get rid of stuff (or box it up and leave it behind, as the case may be!) ;-)
I have four batches of chicks hatched out, and three more on the way. Decided to do that as early as possible this season, and I'm glad I did, I think I'd be going nuts if I waited, and skipping a year would have really set the breeding program back (besides, my neighbors like to come over and play with the chicks!)
On the art front, I have a stack of sketches and price quotes underway. If you happen to be awaiting one of those two items, rest assured I will get to you as soon as I can... I'm way behind right now.
If I could kinda freeze time for a bit and catch up on some things, I totally would. Like, um, taxes. Copying my mom's recipes. Cutting out fifty billion squares of fabric and sewing the quilt that I FINALLY have enough fabric for (after years of collecting it!) and meant to make before Christmas.
Anyway! How bout some pics, just to get back into the swing of things!
Of course I still bake!
Aren't they cute?! The big one's not mine, the little one's a Rosecomb.
This is a couple miles down the road from where I'm moving to. These elk come onto the property sometimes. I only had my little camera with me...
Omar's getting really friendly! He comes right up to me now and always expecting treats! The girls are shy. Then again, he's not good about sharing.
Home Depot must hate indecisive people like me who take one of nearly every paint sample card. ;-)
So the big question, which I think I was actually asked by three different people today, is when am I moving. The answer: I'm not quite sure. Soon. When it's ready... I was up there last weekend helping out with sheet rock (can I put that on my resume now?). There's still quite a lot to do, and the actual move process is going to take a while, what with the horses and birds and stuff and everything. I need to hire someone to help with chicken coop construction. Unfortunately my handy people here are, well, HERE. And there is nearly 200 miles away. Still pondering how that's all gonna work!
Anyway, it'll happen when it happens. I'm the obsessive sort who wants to make plans for EVERYTHING even though I know that doesn't usually work, so I'm trying to go with the flow even though I'm not good at that. There's no rush though, no deadline. I've started in on a cleaning/organizing spree though, and will start packing the non-essential stuff. There's nothing like thinking "do I really want to pack this, move it, unpack it, and find a place to put it?" to make a person get rid of stuff (or box it up and leave it behind, as the case may be!) ;-)
I have four batches of chicks hatched out, and three more on the way. Decided to do that as early as possible this season, and I'm glad I did, I think I'd be going nuts if I waited, and skipping a year would have really set the breeding program back (besides, my neighbors like to come over and play with the chicks!)
On the art front, I have a stack of sketches and price quotes underway. If you happen to be awaiting one of those two items, rest assured I will get to you as soon as I can... I'm way behind right now.
If I could kinda freeze time for a bit and catch up on some things, I totally would. Like, um, taxes. Copying my mom's recipes. Cutting out fifty billion squares of fabric and sewing the quilt that I FINALLY have enough fabric for (after years of collecting it!) and meant to make before Christmas.
Anyway! How bout some pics, just to get back into the swing of things!
Of course I still bake!
Aren't they cute?! The big one's not mine, the little one's a Rosecomb.
This is a couple miles down the road from where I'm moving to. These elk come onto the property sometimes. I only had my little camera with me...
Omar's getting really friendly! He comes right up to me now and always expecting treats! The girls are shy. Then again, he's not good about sharing.
Home Depot must hate indecisive people like me who take one of nearly every paint sample card. ;-)
Sunday, March 11, 2012
the new arrivals
Like I don't have enough going on... I'm really kind of starting to freak out about moving. There is so much to do, I have no idea where to start, blah blah blah, etc, and so forth. I don't want to get into that today.
But in the midst of all the craziness, I went and got more birds. Peafowl. Am I insane?!?! It's quite possible, I admit it.
Friends of mine who live about a half mile down the road have a pretty large flock of peafowl. I've house-sat on numerous occasions, and became increasingly charmed by these birds. I know they're loud. Really, I know. But I got to thinking that having a few when I move might be kind of fun. They'd have plenty of room to roam, trees to sleep in at night, they'd keep the grasshopper population down, they're supposed to be pretty wicked snake-hunters, and well, they're really pretty! And besides, I'm moving to a place where there are horses, cows, dogs, chickens, geese, ducks, turkeys, guinea fowl... really what's another loud animal?
So when my neighbors offered me a deal on a trio if I would help them sell off a bunch of their other ones, I agreed to make that trade. I took photos, posted ads, and the within a few days the birds were nearly all sold. I wasn't planning on getting mine til I was moved and settled in, like maybe in May, but they asked if I'd take them now so that they wouldn't accidentally sell the ones I wanted.
Eeek! Well, I have an empty 12x30ish aviary, so I went ahead and picked them up last night. They will have to stay cooped up here, and then they'll have to stay cooped up on the new place for at least a month before I can let them out to free range. The two females are totally calm already, but the male is still endlessly pacing. Oh well...
Anyway, I now have peafowl. My brother says this cements my white trash reputation. Here I am sticking my tongue out at him: :-P I really hope I haven't made some big mistake, I hope they don't become totally obnoxious.
I opted to give them names that would represent their Indian heritage. So the male is Omar. He's a two-year-old India Blue. He won't get the really long feathers til next year. The females are Nara and Jovita. Nara is a one-year-old India Blue, named after my beautiful bellydance teacher. Jovita (pronounce the J, it means joy) is a one-year-old Black Shoulder peahen. I'm excited about them... I hope I stay that way! :-)
But in the midst of all the craziness, I went and got more birds. Peafowl. Am I insane?!?! It's quite possible, I admit it.
Friends of mine who live about a half mile down the road have a pretty large flock of peafowl. I've house-sat on numerous occasions, and became increasingly charmed by these birds. I know they're loud. Really, I know. But I got to thinking that having a few when I move might be kind of fun. They'd have plenty of room to roam, trees to sleep in at night, they'd keep the grasshopper population down, they're supposed to be pretty wicked snake-hunters, and well, they're really pretty! And besides, I'm moving to a place where there are horses, cows, dogs, chickens, geese, ducks, turkeys, guinea fowl... really what's another loud animal?
So when my neighbors offered me a deal on a trio if I would help them sell off a bunch of their other ones, I agreed to make that trade. I took photos, posted ads, and the within a few days the birds were nearly all sold. I wasn't planning on getting mine til I was moved and settled in, like maybe in May, but they asked if I'd take them now so that they wouldn't accidentally sell the ones I wanted.
Eeek! Well, I have an empty 12x30ish aviary, so I went ahead and picked them up last night. They will have to stay cooped up here, and then they'll have to stay cooped up on the new place for at least a month before I can let them out to free range. The two females are totally calm already, but the male is still endlessly pacing. Oh well...
Anyway, I now have peafowl. My brother says this cements my white trash reputation. Here I am sticking my tongue out at him: :-P I really hope I haven't made some big mistake, I hope they don't become totally obnoxious.
I opted to give them names that would represent their Indian heritage. So the male is Omar. He's a two-year-old India Blue. He won't get the really long feathers til next year. The females are Nara and Jovita. Nara is a one-year-old India Blue, named after my beautiful bellydance teacher. Jovita (pronounce the J, it means joy) is a one-year-old Black Shoulder peahen. I'm excited about them... I hope I stay that way! :-)
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