Outside, Pulling Fence

Is it just me, or is Wendigo adorable even when she's been rolling in a pile of old chicken coop bedding?  Friends of ours have a new indoor puppy, and when we couldn't commiserate with house breaking, since Wendi is always outside, they seemed shocked that we could be so cruel as to leave her outside all the time, and asked if we left her outside even at night.  We are still locking her in the chicken brooder box at night, since she seems bite sized for a coyote.  I don't feel like she's neglected outside at all during the day, because none of us gets to spend any time inside while the sun is shining these days.  Not only are we always outside to make sure the fox doesn't get too brave, we have a never ending list of outdoor chores and projects - including building our first real fence!   

If you remember, we've been working to set all the posts and brace the corners of the half acre field in the northwest corner, and have finally completed that task.  The next step was to buy the wire fence, and stretch it between the posts.  Our fist hurdle was getting the roll of fencing out of the truck, since the guy at the store used a fork lift to put it in there.  It was so heavy!  We backed the blue forked tractor attachment into place, and Brandon used a hammer to pull the heavy roll of fencing out of the truck and onto the forks.  

Hmm... that's sort of how we wanted that to work.  At least the little tractor didn't flip over, right?  

Brandon had to cut back all the tall vegetation on the side of the fence we started with, and then roll the fence along the ground from one corner to the other.  And of course, the pear trees I planted along the fence line are exactly in the the way.  

The fence was cut so that we could wrap the individual wire strands around the corner post, and twist the end of the wire around itself on the other side.  This was kind of tedious, especially since it's happening in the blazing hot sun.  I already feel sorry for the donkey who has to live in this field, since there isn't even a single tree for shade.  I imagine he will graze in the morning and evening and have to hide from the sun during the hottest part of the day in his shelter.  

Now that the fence was attached on the far end to the post, we got to use our home made fence puller contraption to attach to the other end.  As you can see, it's two boards cut to the same size as the fence, which are bolted together with the fence squished between them.  

A come-a-long (i.e. hand operated wench) was hooked to the boards at the top, and another is hooked on the bottom, and the other ends are attached to an extra pole that was set in the ground and braced to the corner post.   Who knew stretching a fence took so many pieces?  

While I propped the fence up, Brandon cranked the come-a-longs to pull the fence tight.  Setting up all the pieces took much longer than actually doing the pulling.  

Ta-da!  One side of the fence is in place!  The short "easy" side, but still, it's a start.  The fence we bought is called goat fence, since the holes are only four inches.  This keeps small animals, like baby goats, from getting their heads stuck in the fence.  Our hope is that this field, at least, will be fenced for whatever animal comes our way - pig, goat, cow, donkey, whatever.  We made sure to get the fence against the ground, with the hope that we might even be able to have a fox free pasture for the chickens.  

We used some u-shaped nails to attach the fence to the wooden posts, which will keep it in place while we attach the fence to all the posts in-between.  Whew.  Fence building is hot work.  Just three more sides to go.  

I Can Make Angel Food Cake

Did I tell you that I know how to make angel food cake?!  I do!  The last thing we needed, really, is for me to learn how easy it is to make a angel food cake, but with all the eggs we have, it was inevitable.  

Despite all the ways we found to eat eggs (even on pizza!), they were starting to pile up in cartons, baskets, bowls, and bags, so it was time to try the angel food cake.  

I perused several recipes and decided to try one using orange extract.  It smells wonderful, and gives the cake a slightly citrus taste.  

The best part of this cake is getting to separate all those egg whites from the yolks.  It takes a cup and half of egg whites, which is around a dozen eggs.  

I haven't figured out how to use the yolks yet, but the chickens like to eat them, so it's like recycling.  

The stand mixer works like magic to turn the whites into fluff.

The flour and sugar are supposed to be sifted multiple times, and then folded into the egg fluff.  It gets baked in a tube pan for about forty-five minutes, starting with cold oven.  

Mmmm....

The problem with this cake is that it's so light and fluffy, it seems there's no point in not eating the whole thing!  

Hunting Wabbits, Opossums, and the Fox

When I mention the Virginia Opossums we catch in our fox trap, people always tell me how ugly or mean possums are, but I think this little lady is kind of sweet looking.  Her nose is a pretty pink, her eyes are clear and bright, and her ears are cute little circles.  Her tail leaves something to be desired, since it is mostly bald and rat like, but no one's perfect.  She even has little pink fingers!

We are having zero luck trapping the fox.  We've tried different baits, and different trap locations.  We bought a larger trap too.  We might have more luck if the possums would stop getting in the trap.  Brandon makes declarations that he's going to kill the possums, but so far, he always lets them go. 

If you zoom in on the picture above, you can see a tiny baby possum dangling from her belly.  

She ran so fast when the trap was opened, the the baby fell off into the grass.  Oh no!

It's so tiny!  It's eyes were sealed shut, and it's legs were wobbly.  It started making a little sneezing noise, which I read is to help the mother find the lost baby.  

I put it in the shade where she dropped it, and we stayed away.  Did you know there's an Opossum Society of the United States?  I did not, but they have a good summary of their life cycle and some funny myths about them.  Apparently the bifurcated Opossum penis led people to believe the the female was impregnated through her nostrils, and she then sneezed the super tiny (twenty can fit in a teaspoon) babies into her pouch!  Ha! Marsupials are weird, but not that weird!

Speaking of weird... Unbeknownst to Brandon, the mail lady and I were having a conversation in the side yard on Friday when he came walking around the house in his fox hunting outfit, and carrying a rifle.  He had vegetation stuffed in the brim of his floppy hat and was wearing his home made camouflage shirt.  She managed to keep her cool, but Brandon and I are still laughing about how funny he looked.  If only he had said he was out hunting wabbits in his best Elmer Fudd voice! Ha!  Spending so much time away from neighbors is having detrimental effects on our appearance!  Needless to say - he did not get the fox, despite the twigs on his head.  

Living Like Pilgrims

The fox got two more chickens yesterday, one of which was a tiny rooster chick the mamma hatched, and the other was one of the white hens.  Sigh.  

After seeing the remaining chickens on their perch last night, and realizing how little space they take up now, after seven have been taken by the fox, I decided to leave them cooped up during the day today.  They don't like it, especially the guineas, who are very vocal about their imprisonment.  

I was hoping that we would have enough new recruits hatching to replace those lost to predators, but with only two new hen chicks, I'm considering hatching some eggs in the incubator to make up for so many losses.  If we can't catch the fox, we may have to figure out a way to fence him out of an area that the chickens can use.  

If I fence the chickens, I could un-fence the garden, which would make it easier to mow.  Look - kale. Yay...

The buckwheat started flowering when it was less than a foot tall, but it didn't stop growing.  It's several feet tall now, and covered in little white flowers which the bees enjoy.  The pumpkins are growing like gang busters, and the sunflowers and corn are starting to look like real plants.  I dug up an onion recently and was surprised to find a giant potato while I was digging.  Considering the onion was growing next to the potato plant, you wouldn't think I would be so surprised!  

When I gave my nephew a tour of the garden recently, he asked "are you trying to live like pilgrims or something?"  Ha!  His mom had to explain to him what our clothes line was, and he seemed more baffled by our lack of clothes dryer than the presence of our outhouse.  He gets just as excited as I do to collect the eggs though, so I think he has a little pilgrim in him too.  

Can you see the apple on the little apple tree?  With three cherries on the little cherry tree, and an apple on the apple tree, can I say we planted an orchard yet?  

The big apple tree that was here before us has loads of tiny apples this year.  More than I've ever seen before.  

They're so small though.  I keep thinking that the pilgrims would make cider of these tiny apples, right?  Mmm.... cider....

Brandon's brother borrowed our big trailer to haul some dirt, and while he had it he fixed the tire and built these cool wooden walls, which are removable. Isn't it pretty?  

The sky is pretty.  

And the elderberries, which are as big as platters on the shrub near the chicken coop.  I think elderberries like having chickens fertilizing their roots.  

Thanks to the fresh fleas that Wendigo brought with her, Puck got a much needed bath the other day.  I don't like to make him wet in the winter since he has bad hip joints, but he seemed quite content to stand while I hosed him down and soaped him up in this hot weather.  Without a swimming pool, I'm glad for any excuse to use the hose.  

We were gifted some large fence panels by some friends, and used them to create a kennel attached to the corn crib and chicken coop.  Wendigo has her own room! 

We want her to learn to live with chickens, and hopefully defend the chickens, but maybe she spends too much time with them.  Does she think she's a chicken?

Newt is disgusted by the very presence of the puppy.  

But the rest of us think she's great!  

Fist to Fist with the Savage Fury of Wendigo!

Watch out, Mr. Fox, the chickens have a ferocious guard dog on their side now!  Wendigo, our new puppy is here to protect us.  

The fox will be shaking in his socks, right?  Just look at the scary gleam in her eye.  

So far, every animal she meets is someone to play with.  Including pigs and sharp clawed cats.  She's  not ready to face the fox until she's acquired the appropriate guard dog attitude though.  And maybe gained a few pounds.  

She's brave.  I tried not to panic when I saw her walk right up to Bugger, the neighbors male pot bellied pig who came to take a bath in the chicken's water dish.  They seemed to hit it off right away.  

She's named after the savage Wendigo from the marvel comics.  We're hoping the fox will be so intimidated by her that it will never have to go fist to fist the the savage fury of Wen-di-go!

She's a Great Pyrenees puppy, and could grow waist high and weigh up to one hundred and twenty pounds.  Oh my.  We love Puck for his house and travel sized stature.  Wendigo will live outside, and if we go on vacation, I'm hopeful that she will stay home and keep on eye on things for us.  

I haven't had a puppy for over a dozen years.  If she's not playing, she's sleeping.  She's already a good garden helper.  She's good at playing tug of war with my garden gloves, and good at eating my bean seeds before I can plant them.  She's not afraid to get her paws dirty either, so she doesn't hesitate to walk all over the baby plants or roll in the mulch.  It's a good thing she's adorable.  

She came from a mountain farm in eastern Kentucky, and Brandon was able to meet both of her parents and her older brother.  Brandon said they were dirty, with tangled hair and as happy as any dogs he ever met.  They demanded affection, and were so big no one in their right mind would deny them!  Wendigo came with her own colony of fleas.  She let me brush the dirt from her hair and treat her with flea medicine.  I've been warned that I need to get her used to being brushed while she's young because her hair will be long and will tangle.  

She's so cute, that even after she rolled in a mud puddle, she's fun to play with.  

My youngest niece said Wendigo was hard name to remember, and something like Snow Flake would be easier.  We all agreed that she's more fun to play with than Puck, who never did enjoy being touched by kids.  Puck hasn't succumbed to her cuteness yet, but I can tell that Wendigo is persistent.  I don't think it will be long before I'll catch them playing together.  Who could resist a puppy?