CHICKENS AS PETS OR LIVESTOCK?.

I grew up with chickens on our family farm. When I married and moved to our first house, I got my first chickens. We lived in a tract home with close neighbors, but no one complained about my chickens and I’ve owned chickens everywhere I’ve lived since.
I’ve never kept chickens in a coop during that time. This summer,  my son built the Taj Mahal of chicken coops, open and airy.  Easy to clean, no odor. We enjoyed a fun summer with this small batch of three. My housemate, however regards them as pets, while I think of them as livestock. She has been after me to close up the coop as the weather has gotten colder. (The picture above shows the fully open side)

Then we had a 12 hour storm, a real gully washer, badly needed, much appreciated, except by my housemate who was practically in tears and calling me cruel for not providing more shelter for the birds.
I finally gave in and had a handyman  begin the process. And, I’ll admit she is right. Even though all of my chickens through the years  flew into trees to roost, and were never attacked by wild animals,  I did lose my last batch to hawks. Thus the coop.  If you have a coop, it should not only protect, but, since it isn’t their choice of a place to roost, it should also be dry. The storm wetted half the coop. I’ll show some after pictures when its done.

I’m ferociously busy because I’m downsizing and filling my storage building. And, revamping my office to be less crowded. No time to go through everything and toss much. I say I’ll do it later. Jim says I just move stuff around. I find it funny and fun, so I keep at it. It is certainly more fun than all the money begging going on in the political arena where every candidate is now addicted to lots of cash. I wish we could throw them all out and start over with better rules.

BIASED I AM.

I’ve been accused of being biased and I know it’s true.   I know  two of the cutest kids on the planet and, they are all mine to spoil for another day before I head for home.

Owen spent a day with a friend while Theo stayed close to my elbow explaining how to play plants vs. zombies on a DS, an electronic toy. His parents limit their time on electronic devices, which is a good thing for a parent to do,  but Theo claimed he would like to have enough  time to play to an advanced enough stage where he can earn enough coin (fake coin) t0 buy another version of the game. So, of course, I made sure he had a leisurely day of lying around and playing DS as much as he wanted for a whole day. Ahhh!  It’s so fun to be a grandma.

He did his chores, put the chickens to bed, fed and played with the cats, and we both enjoyed the day.

Then we enjoyed the neighbor’s fire on his driveway, (a curiosity), from  distance.

TEXAS HILL COUNTRY

While moseying around Texas Hill Country, we bumped into President Lyndon Johnson's Texas home. It was just a sign on the road so we pulled in and visited. No pictures were allowed inside, but outside was a hoot. In fact it was raining the day we were there and rain was kind of a significant factor at the Johnson Ranch. He had built a concrete swale across a  creek to get from his ranch to the main road. During wet weather the swale could be a couple feet under water but did not impede the flow of the creek. During dry weather it was just a dip in the road.

We were there in late January, and water was flowing across the swale but we were not allowed to drive across it as the Johnson family did. When the government acquired the property for a Historical Park and Monument, they built another road to the house. In Johnson's garage with several of the family vehicles were pictures of Johnson driving across the swale

Here Ladybird holds tight to her hat.

 And here, Johnson scares the living daylights out of  newspaper reporters, supposedly one of his favorite sports, according to the docents.

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 The park property also includes a neighboring homestead. No electricity there. It is run by the docents in the same way most Hill Country Texans lived, including the Johnson family at one time. A windmill pumped water. Wood stoves were used for cooking and the buildings were logs. Here are young piglets and chickens.

In hot Texas summers, Hill Country folks made use of outdoor kitchens for canning and washing clothes.

 

Docents make sausages, headcheese and bake bread on a wood stove.

 They preserve fruits and make jellies as in the old days. All without benefit of modern appliances. Its an interesting place to visit. But, I'm glad I have a grocery store down at the corner.

LBJ's country school house has been moved to the site. He and Ladybird are buried here, as well. Their house inside is quite unpretentious. True Texans, down home kind of people. They lived quite simply.