Chicken Challenge 2010 Ends

Okay, so it wasn't much of a 'challenge' per se. Dad pretty much took care of them, no contest was held. So much for that.

But now I can report that the chickens have fulfilled their destiny and were delivered to the butchers this past Sunday.

Of approximate 102 to start. 38 made it to Butcher Day. Puh-thetic. 60% attrition! Blight, escape, raccoons and coyotes had their way with the flock this year.

Had I been a diligent blogger you would have been captivated by reports of raccoon break-ins, mass murder, reinforcing the perimeter, breaking through the perimeter, checking in with CTU, Sam the dog corning raccoon in the old combine, Peter solving the problem with the 22, another raccoon moving in, more 'lead poisoning', etc. But I was a crap blogger (as has been established) and you missed all that.

Point being - REALLY crap year for chickens.

For all those making the trip this past weekend, the average weigh-in was somewhere between 3 and 4 pounds. Please inquire with Mom for exact measurements.

Didn't know she could move so fast!

Mom was heading out for her morning walk, fiddling with her walkman (yes, walkman). She looked up to see Sam the Dog running towards her. Being chased by a moose.

What to do!?!? Start running!

Chug, chug, chug...off she went. First glance back...still coming. Running....!

Second glance...moose veered off into the bush, Sam in hot pursuit.

Warmed up, she proceeded on with her walk.

Her comment..."They have LONG legs!"

That was interesting.

Flood Vice-Dictator appointed

Mom and Dad left for a little anniversary get-away (49 years...holla!) and in his stead, Peter is in charge of flood management with dictatorial powers.

Interestingly, the guy who appointed Dad left town too and his vice-guy has no idea all this has been decided.

And there's poor Peter out there revving the bulldozer.... :)

State of Emergency declared in the garden

Mom says there's never been a year like it. The garden is a write off.

- Record rain fall has turned half of it into a rice paddy...too bad we forgot to seed
- The brand new rototiller remains idol...would just get stuck
- Weeds are rubbing their pollen-laden leaves together in glee
- Potato bugs have infested the few brave potatoes that are struggling forth
- Peter powered the bugs last night
- It rained and washed the powder away
- New potatoes were planted today...trying again
- Bulls have trampled the carrot patch

The only hope remains with the cluster of raised beds across the road. It's looking promising and Chris and I did some seeding yesterday. A little sun would be appreciated.

Looks like we'll join the masses in the checkout line at Superstore this year...

Time to go fishing.

Break in the weather

To celebrate the third day of no rain (apart from brief overnight showers), TWO mowers are going full steam ahead today.  

That's Mom in her jaunty pink camp and Dad working the backfield.

Take that, you crazy-growing-lawn.  Take that!

Closed!

Well, they finally closed the highway this morning.  We went into town last night and the car was NOT pleased with it's swim through the flood zone and apparently the highway department is finally in agreement.

Our neighbour Ron, on the eastern shore, informed us of the closure this morning and claimed that the beavers were eating a hole throught the asphalt.  I, like an idiot, believed  him, until Mom clued me in that it was his hilarious way of saying that part of the road is now being washed away.  I'm quick.

So, onto a 10 minute dirt road drive of a detour.  The couple of farmyards on the way must be all a twitter with the traffic-packed roads.

The channel down the road continues to rise.  The two culverts going under the road are so far underwater that a local beaver (really) chose to portage rather than be battered around with an underwater passage.

Peter reports early morning hilarity with Sam (the dog) chasing down an overly-confident fox who found his escape route thwarted by deep water.  He had to dig deep for untold courage to come shockingly close to the truck to make his break for it.

But seriously, states of emergency are popping up all over the place.  Highway 1 near Alberta is closed due to flooding, seeds are not even being planted.  Bummer of a year all around.

Happily, there was a period of sun and wind today.  Not even the mosquitoes could hold their own...yay.  

However, the popular fluff was in fine form...some hit Mom in the back of the throat as she careened around the yard on lawnmower. 

Never misses a chance to mow down a swath or two...

Spring shots

Nice shots of the farm. This was pre-monsoon in the first week on June.

Lovely lilacs

Dexter leaving.

Running into Grandma on our walk

Rolling bedding plant nursery.

Energizer Mom

With her attempts at gardening thwarted, Mom has now refocussed her not-inconsiderable energy on deep cleaning the house.

We are hiding downstairs listening to the roar of the vacuum.

Think of us.

Blub blub...

Record-setting rainfall here this year.  The most in a million years or something like that.

The house is now waterfront property with the appearance of a pond in the front yard and our little highway is awash in flood waters by the bridge to the 'big' highway.

Mom can be heard muttering "this is stupid" as she crams the bedding plants into any non-mud dirt she can find and laments the yellowing of leaves as she careens around the yard in the golf cart (she just sped by the window inspecting the north-east corner of the yard).

She tries to find Chris to help push her out when she takes the lawn mower into too-soggy land - she's trying to avoid Dad's stink-eye for not having heeded warnings to stay away.  But "goll darn it" the grass is like hay already!

Meanwhile Dad is doing a "told you so" to the local watershed committee from which he resigned in protest several years ago.   He was ignored in his insistence that the local lake's water level was being kept way too high...lining everything up for a big mess if wet weather continued. 

Well guess what?   There are reports of sandbagging underway to try to protect waterfront cabins and the do-hickey to drain the lake into the channels is WIDE open, but nowhere close to keeping pace with the water rising.   A lot of eye-rolling going on.  Never mind the long-disappeared beaches, now the potential for uncontrolled general flooding is very real.  

Four more days of rain expected.  Strap on the water wings.

At least one segment of the population is very pleased...the mosquitoes.