Author Archives: joesmithreally

And cold, I suppose, now that winter has set in. They don’t like walking in snow, but they seem pretty happy. No signs of frost bit yet, either. Very gentle, curious birds. Roger, the young Rhode Island Red rooster, and the 3 Barred Plymouth Rock hens, are especially friendly, approaching closely and expectantly when I’mContinue reading “Chickens Are Cool”

TURKEYS! So glad to see you! I used to see 9 wild turkey hens regularly. It was always 9, no more, no less, precisely 9, for 2-3 months. They would be out in the pasture, at the edge of the woods, and usually work their slow, methodical way up into the yard and feed aroundContinue reading “Wild Turkeys Return!”

I suppose the CAPS in the title gives away my current thinking. Since Scootch died, Nico sits under these two bird feeders a lot, just waiting to pounce on a careless bird. I really liked Scootch. She was special, more than a farm cat. Scootch bonded to me. (And me to her, despite my generalContinue reading “More Cats or NO MORE Cats?”

Every time I pee in the toilet, I know I’m wasting valuable nitrogen. Every time I flush the toilet, I know I’m wasting good, finite water. Consciousness changes on the small calm farm.

This is sad. But it’s a lesson. Certainly to me. Maybe to whoever else reads this. Scootch liked me. And I liked her, despite my general indifference to cats. She was more like a dog than a cat. She would stay close and watch me when I was working outside, pounding on this and that,Continue reading “Domesticated Predators, Part 3: I Miss You, Scootch”

So… Mama Cat and her 4 little kittens had successfully moved into the garage and I had not yet moved permanently to the Small Calm Farm. I had purchased a good self-feeder and water dispenser that held enough food and water for several days for Mama Cat and her nursing babies and I visited atContinue reading “Domesticated Predators, Part 2: In Affectionate Memory of Scootch”

I have this issue with the house/front yard portion and the larger majority of the small calm farm where I spend most my time (working or just enjoying the space). There’s a nice, solid 12 foot retaining wall between the house and the garage/property, but I must walk 40+ feet east to the end ofContinue reading “Functional? We Shall See.”

When I took the huge financial, social and psychological plunge to abandon an increasingly random, aggressive and violent city and move to a less stressful, more peaceful existence in the country, I didn’t intend to have cats. I have also enjoyed the presence of wild birds a lot, providing feeders and natural habitat for themContinue reading “Cats Are Domesticated Predators: An Unacceptable Oxymoron”

Winter came. And stayed. After nearly 2 weeks of mostly sunny and fairly warm temperatures following Thanksgiving, the first snow came and the temperatures dropped below freezing and have stayed there for several days, day and night. The chickens were very hesitant to step out of the coop onto the snow. Inside the coop, theirContinue reading “Chickens and Winter”