Happy Chickens Are Productive Chickens

Mine get lots of goodies. Cracked corn and freeze dried mealworms for breakfast every morning as long as the weather permits them to be outside. All the insects they can forage for all day long. Over ripe (but NEVER rotten or moldy) fruit and vegetables as long as the items are on the "OK for chickens" list. Earlier today a collection of small pumpkins left over from autumn/Halloween decorations at my wife's work place. I removed the stems and cut them open.

They eat everything but the skin, and in just a couple of days make the skin like a piece of paper on the ground. They do the same with cantaloupe and watermelon. They had a single large pumpkin last week that was from our front yard. Is it any wonder they all come-a-runnin' when they hear the door open and see me coming out? 

Unlike other backyard egg farmers, I get eggs all year `round. That is due to providing them a light source for 15 hours a day. Lights in the coop on a timer that come on before sunrise and shut off after. Natural daylight until sunset and then the balance from the coop light until bed time. Be cautioned, because too much light is not good, and they will begin exhibiting undesirable behaviors.

Below is a comprehensive list of good and bad foods for chickens.

Foods that chickens can or can't eat

New Jerry Cans Filled And In Service

So the cans arrived on Wednesday Nov. 30th. Since the insides of the cans smelled of the solvents from the petrol-proof coating, I left them open in my garage for a couple of days to finish drying and/or the smell to dissipate. By Thursday evening the smell seemed to be completely gone. I poured one ounce of Sta-Bil 360 in each can and closed it up, then placed the four cans in my truck. My plan was to go to BJ's in Manchester after the family dinner out Friday night and fill the cans as well as top off my truck's fuel tank. We got out of Texas Roadhouse about 8:40 PM and the BJ's closed at 9 PM, but the restaurant was less than a mile away, so plenty of time. The BJ's gas station is normally a zoo, except late at night. I drove right up to a pump, got my fuel and got out of there before closing time. The person that pulled up behind me didn't have to wait long. I was done with the cans and part way through filling my truck when she pulled up behind me. No disgusted looks as someone has to wait until I am done getting all my fuel like normal. If anyone was ever to actually get out of their vehicle and start bitching at me, I would just tell them they should have gotten off their ass and come earlier.

Having to work Saturday, I left the filled cans in the garage. I got up early on Sunday morning because we were going out to breakfast and then cutting fresh Christmas trees with friends. I brought the cans down to the barn to be permanently stored with the others since I had to go down there and get my chainsaw. I now have 60+ gallons of fresh, treated gasoline on hand for emergency generator use. That is above and beyond the full fuel tanks on my vehicles and motorcycle I would tap into during a regional disaster where buying gas might not be available for some time.

So referring only to my dedicated generator gas; I have enough on hand ready to go to run my generator at full capacity for 15 hours a day for 8 days. My generator fuel consumption at that rate is exactly 7 1/2 gallons per day. If not the depths of winter or in the middle of broiling in the summer, that could be stretched out significantly. For the first six years I owned the generator it only ran for preventative maintenance. So far, we have had three or four major outages lasting a week or more since 2011 and each one left electric power available in the vicinity along major state roads and power feeds. Gas was definitely easy enough to get. Living along a back country road, we aren't the very last customers to get power back, but if our road has utility infrastructure damage we won't get it back for days.

My wife won't ever understand the need to keep so much fuel on hand until the day comes where we need it and it's available. I don't believe we need to stockpile any additional gasoline, although I would not be opposed to doubling my current supply... or even more. I used to rotate it all at once, but with current self-inflicted gas prices I do 10 or 15 gallons at a time, dumping it into and using it in our vehicles. Since all the cans are tagged it is easy to keep track of which ones are filled and when, as well as spreading out the financial pain..

A Christmas Tale of My Own

So last night, my wife and I watched the christmas classic "Christmas Vacation" for like the hundredth time. Poor Clark (Chevy Chase) tries so hard to pull off the perfect family Christmas celebration and ultimately does. And my little tale has to do with the character, Clark W. Griswold.

It was around Christmas 2005. I was working for a telecommunications company that at the time was still going gangbusters and one of our most lucrative customers was a factory in South Deerfield, MA that made food grade packaging film (think the clear plastic wrap around a package of steaks). There was a big telecom project going on that required two of us to be there working on it. Our customer contact was a guy named Clark Sylvester and we had been dealing with him for years. He was the go to guy for anything in the plant facility wise. We got on site, met with Clark, and got our work assignments. We needed to confer with Clark when we were done before going any further. That day, Clark was not going to be in his office but out and about in the plant. He told us to page him over the P.A. system and he would call us back. I jokingly said to Paul my co-worker, "I better make sure I don't accidentally page Clark Griswold, ha-ha." Because as smart and organized as our Clark was, he was also kind of goofy. We got to work for the next few hours.

When we finished we returned to our equipment room, got some paperwork and miscellaneous items together, and I grabbed the phone and punched the "PAGE" button. I started talking without thinking... "Clark Griswold call 2599. Clark Griswold 2599." I hung up the phone and clapped my hand over my mouth. "Fuck! What did I just do?" I thought Paul was gonna piss himself laughing. Of course no one called, because Clark Griswold doesn't work there, but I am pretty sure someone somewhere on the factory floor was also having a good laugh. We waited several minutes before attempting the page again. I tried to get Paul to do it but he would have no part of it. So I spent those minutes rehearsing what I was going to say. I picked up the phone, punched the button, and successfully paged Clark with his proper name. Imagine that, he immediately called us back and never questioned us about the bogus page.

Not Glamorous, But Still Sexy

Lifted from The Feral Irishman's "Friday Femme Fatale Farrago..." post from late last night.

 

She reminds me of those girls from high school that most guys wouldn't pay any attention to. But snag yourself one and she was a hidden gem, loyal to a fault, and horny as fuck. I remember guys holding out for a Farrah Fawcett look alike and always being alone. I always had a girlfriend. I actually had my first real girlfriend in 8th grade. The bus ride home was a makeout session every day, even though her older brother liked to rough me up when he caught me in school. She was a cute, freckle-faced, curly haired brunette with blue eyes named Phyllis. We got together because I thought she was funny, I paid attention and was nice to her, and it was she who initiated the "romance." I mean, here I am writing about a girl from 46 years ago that I will never forget. I ended up playing on the same softball team as her brother in the 1990's. Her brother told me she was married and her and her husband owned and ran a successful pizza restaurant. There were many others after Phyllis and before I met my wife and I believe every single one helped make me the man I am today.

 

I would be very interested in comments from both guys and gals on the subject.

Would You? I DEFINITELY WOULD!

I have to word this post very carefully so as not to be perceived as a direct threat against anyone.

However, if presented with the opportunity and the means to send certain individuals worldwide that wish to oppress or reduce the population of freedom loving individuals on a one-way trip to hell... then yes I would. Without hesistation or second thought. And the number of such scum is Y-U-U-U-U-U-G-E!

What keeps these never-to-be-named individuals from meeting their fate at my hands is the fact I live in relative seclusion and have no desire to travel and track them down. And they certainly won't be coming to me.

Nah. As Johnny Ringo said to Doc Holliday in the movie Tombstone, "I was just foolin' about."

Or was I? 🤔