Battling the Buffalo Gnats

We started planting the garden!

This year we are re-using the plastic from last year. Planting is a whole lot easier when the holes are already in place. Some things we planted less of because we don't have goats or pigs to feed the excess to this year. In the empty holes I put marigolds to help fight some of the insect battles we have. I don't know what marigolds have that some bugs don't like but I can say it definitely helps!

One of the worst pests we have at planting time are buffalo gnats. They don't bother the plants but they can put a lot of hurt on the gardeners. One bite on me causes a welt that itches and swells for days - way worse than a mosquito bite. They're also a bane to our chickens as they will swarm around their heads and close off their breathing. 

Buffalo gnats haven't always been in our area. The theory is that a major flood several years ago brought them in. I'd be happy if they would go back! But since they're here, I've learned some ways to deal with them. First, we spray ourselves with vanilla whenever we're going to be working outside. Vanilla is the only deterrent that actually works. And for the chickens, we keep the coop dark and run a fan for constant air circulation. The birds will congregate in the coop, of their own free will, until the gnat season is over. It's usually only a couple weeks that the gnats are here but they can make life miserable if you aren't prepared.

Ugly Worm

I found this little guy munching on a tomato vine. Right next to him is the tomato he had for breakfast. I'm not sure if he is a tomato hornworm or a tobacco hornworm.  My chickens just settled for calling him a...

SNACK!!

The Best Part of Waking Up

is the smell of fresh coffee wafting up the stairs!
 Unfortunately the last two mornings I have been rudely jerked out of my soft slumber by the strong, pungent smell of a skunk. UGH!!! It's a lingering odor that is still in my yard when I go out for morning chores, sometimes an hour after I've woke up. Of course I could do without the inconvenience of the smell, but even more worrisome is the fact that a predator is hanging around my rabbits and chickens.
 My animals are locked up but a predator (possibly a skunk, it left a strong odor) has gotten into my rabbit cages before- by going through the feeder opening. Since then, we've switched to feeders that hang inside the cage and eliminated the hole there. And a few weeks ago, I discovered a possum inside the chicken coop. It killed my two just-hatched chicks and one of the pullets before I found it. The possum was dispatched but I've not figured out a way to make the coop more predator proof. The only way I could figure the possum got in was through the little door- in broad daylight! The rabbit cages and chicken coop are inside a fence but there are gaps around the gate that a small predator can get through and some branches of a pine tree outside the fence hang over the inside. Soooo we aren't 100% tight. And I'm 100% worried.
 This morning as I was walking out the door, heading to church, I heard the most awful screeching coming from the chicken coop. The automatic door hadn't opened yet so my mind was picturing all my birds locked up with a chicken-killing skunk. My heart was in my throat as I took off running for the coop. My purse went flying across the yard and I ripped my skirt on the gate as I raced to save my flock from the evil skunk! Before I opened the people door, I grabbed a shovel to kill the monster and peeked in the window to locate my enemy and make a plan of action. What I saw was... all the birds were clucking and flapping, lined up waiting for their door to open- except one. That one was doing a dance like I remember learning in middle school, strutting, and trying his best to break the glass with his high-pitched shrieks  crow. Just crow.
 So, I put the shovel up, retrieved my purse, went back inside to change my skirt, and made it to church with 2 minutes to spare.
 I guess as soon as the farm store opens, I will be buying a trap. Meantime, I'm sporting earplugs til that rooster learns his do re mi's!

Feeding the Neighborhood

Remember when "chicken feed" was a term for something that didn't cost a lot? As in, "I bought it for chicken feed?" We e e ell. Chicken feed is a pretty penny now. And I'm not talking about fancy organic, high in omega shmega feed. Although I WISH I could afford to feed them that. No, we get the cheapest the farm store has to offer. And it still costs so much that I seriously cut down on the size of future flocks when we switched from free range to a run. Yes we can keep more birds alive in the pen, but we have to balance out the costs. You can't get chicken feed for -umm- chicken feed anymore.

I've been really frustrated at the amount of feed we've had to buy for the past several weeks. We cut back some more on the number of hens (and one mean old roo!) and kept only one layer, the 3 Silkies, and our little flock of 10 pullets. And still we are going through almost 50 pounds of feed a week!?! Where in the world could they be putting it?

Well, today, I changed up my routine a little bit. I had to run to town this morning for a medical test and I slept in too late to feed before I left. So I ran down to the coop as soon as I got home and guess what I discovered... a party at the chicken feeder! There in broad daylight were approximately 10 little birds (swallows? starlings?) circled around the feeder. They swooped out as soon as they realized I was there, stopping on the other side of the little door. I think they were demanding a refund from the Silkies that were guarding the entrance.

Now that I've had my "ah-ha" moment, it's time to figure out how to solve this expensive problem. Any suggestions?

Chocolate Chippy Day

 First thing this morning I headed out to pick the cucumbers. They are taking over! Right next to them is supposed to be a lovely row of sweet corn. Now, when DH and I were picking the cucumbers the other day, we noticed some of that corn was on the ground-knocked off the stalk. We assumed it had been taken out by the storm the night before. And there was a storm last night. And there was more corn ripped off the stalks today. But this corn had been eaten. Last time I checked, thunder and lightning don't have a particular fondness for the taste of sweet corn.
 I also noticed some funny looking white fluff scattered around. What could that be? Is that...TOILET PAPER??? No, it's only seed tape. I guess the chickens thought it was a special treat just for them!
 I took in the armful of cucumbers and gave in to the niggling thoughts in the back of my brain (where brave men won't go!) It is time to DO something with these cukes before they go to waste. Pickling is a new concept for me but hey, I'm up for anything, once. I had picked up a packet of pickle mix the other day so I grabbed it up and studied like I was going to be taking a pickle test. I followed the directions to the letter. And instead of the said 4 pints of pickles promised, I got 3. So I've got leftover cut-up cucumbers and some that haven't been cut yet. It was time to hit the information highway for cucumber ideas. And I found what I thought was a really good looking recipe for dill relish. Only after much cooking and sweating and possibly a few tears, the end result was a runny mess that tasted really sweet. I canned it anyway-who knows, maybe DH will like it!?!
 Since I was already frustrated I decided to go for broke and try a new banana bread recipe I've been wanting to try for ages. I really like my old recipe but this one uses whole wheat flour and I like the idea of whole grain. But my kitchen was soooo hot from canning the pickles and relish that I modified the recipe to try in my bread machine. My machine is the kind where you put in all the wet ingredients and then add in the dry. So I filled up the pan with the butter, eggs, vanilla, etc.. then pulled the whole wheat flour out of the cabinet. And I got a big surprise-moths. Ok, that flour had been up there a couple months. So I got out the new bag and, you probably guessed it-moths. Now I know I'm in trouble. So I throw the rest of the ingredients in the pan and use my all-purpose flour(moth free in a Tupperware canister!) The bread has been cooking for a little bit now and I have to say, it doesn't look quite right! But I'll let it finish and see what happens.
 While I'm waiting, I've been cleaning out the kitchen cabinets. The last thing I need is a moth infestation so everything that has been opened has been pitched! I store most of my opened dry goods in glass jars or gallon size freezer bags but I'm not taking any chances. Thankfully, there isn't a whole lot of that. 
 And just so you know, today wasn't a total wipe out-I have leftover chocolate chips from the banana bread. What more could a girl want? 

Oh, Gnats!

I bought a package of sunflower seeds to plant for my chickens. They really love them and I think that the seeds must make the eggs more healthy. But when I went out to plant them, I was attacked by a swarm of killer gnats. Not your normal, everyday gnats mind you, but  huge blood-sucking gnats. This is the 4th year they have shown their evil faces and I was hoping the guineas would eat them up. Alas, no such luck. They must not be appetizing to guineas. At any rate, I will have to learn to live with them until they leave. Last year, I managed to keep them from biting by spraying myself down with vanilla every time I went outside. It was a tedious and sticky job. But without the vanilla spray, the biting would get unbearable. The gnats swarmed around me in a thick cloud and it was impossible to get anything accomplished. I would end up in the house with large welts-mostly on my face and scalp- and I would have to brush dead gnats out of my hair. Mucho grosso!!!! It's hard to believe something so small can make a person so miserable. So I am sticking to inside chores today and will be stocking up on vanilla tomorrow. Want to get the sunflowers in the ground and the roses planted in the potatoes. Wish me luck!