Friday Favorites: Mice Cubes
You’d think with all the cats around there wouldn’t be mice in the house, but they manage to get in and keep away from the cats. The cats know they’re there and stalk them, but the mice seem to know a few routes in places where cat claws cannot reach them, mostly in the walls. For the most part I don’t see mice, we hear them every now and again. Last week I closed the door to the pantry and a mouse decided to take advantage. As a result I put out the mice cubes , which I should have done a long time ago.
These things are great, they work very well and you don’t have to worry about finding smashed mice in a trap. My mom started using these many years ago and has always caught any mouse that made it into her house. They’re also nice because they aren’t the spring loaded types, which I don’t really want to have around with the cats.
I now have four of these things baited with peanut butter spread throughout the house in spots that the cats can’t reach. Hopefully they will keep any future mice from feasting on any items in our pantry. Of course the pantry door will stay open now so the cats can patrol that area as well.
Do you ever get mice in the house?
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Paring Down
It’s that time of the year to whittle down the number of birds in my flock. While I’d love to keep them all, they are expensive to maintain over the winter when there is no pasture and I don’t like keeping too many birds cooped up in the winter. I’d rather overwinter a smaller flock so they have ample space.
The guineas all get to stay, they provide the valuable service of tick control. Some of the muscovies will get to stay, I’m hoping to cut down to 2-5 birds. That means I have about 15-18 birds to get rid of. I’m also getting rid of all but one of my Ancona drakes.
With the 15 chickens that hatched out this summer I also need to cull a few roosters, there are probably 3 of those that need to head off to Iceland, otherwise the snowy days in the coop will be lively ones! The hens will stick around to augment our laying flock and make up for some of the predator losses from hawks we’ve sustained this fall.
This is the difficult part of keeping animals. While it would be nice to keep them all, the nature of keeping birds as livestock means that there are far fewer losses to predators and thus more survive. Their numbers will steadily grow until you have way too many birds. The good thing is that I don’t usually have too much trouble getting rid of them. In the spring I sold off most of my extra stock to make way for the new hatches this summer. I definitely am looking forward to paring down on the number of birds I maintain throughout the winter. Feeding fermented feed will be easier and cheaper if I can keep the number of birds below 40!
Do you have to pare down on any livestock for the winter?
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Soapbox
Yesterday was voting day here in the US, one of those days most of us are happy to see come and go so the political signs can leave the corners and the ads can leave the internet & tv airways. There’s really nothing more annoying than the constant negativity that election season brings. While I vote each time the polls are open, I have long since come to believe that this is definitely not the most important way to encourage change and to make a difference.
I’m a big believer I vote each and every day with the food that graces my table and the places I spend each penny I earn. My most important vote is cast with the choices I make each and every day, where my money is invested, and how I choose to spend my time.
I cast my vote for the kind of country/community I want to live in every Friday morning at the farmers market. I cast my vote every time I choose to buy from a small business over a big corporation. I cast my vote when I invest in my community rather than in big banks. I cast my vote when I spend my time helping neighbors and building my community. Sure I often spend more money on some things and don’t make as much on my investments, but sometimes looking at the bottom line isn’t the best way to look at things. Often we need to look at the long term effects of our decisions. I want this country to be a wonderful place for my friend’s children and grandchildren and I try to make sure each and every one of my decisions works towards that goal.
The best part of these choices is that it enriches my life greatly. Every Friday morning I am happy to chat with the same farmers and help be a part of that community. Building my local food system is my favorite way to cast my vote for what I believe in and the changes I want to see!
What’s your favorite way to vote other than in the voting booth?
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Welcome?
Winter is officially here and we are unprepared. Last time I checked the weather there was no longer snow and they were calling for rain. So when we heard that there was a noreaster forecasted to arrive on Saturday night we were a little nervous. We happened to be down in Rhode Island, Mr Chiots was speaking at a conference. Luckily, we made it home before the snow started. We woke up the next morning to an inch or so of snow and things deteriorated from there. It snowed…..and snowed….and continued to snow long after they had predicted that it would stop.
We ended up with 16-18 inches of snow – we were not ready for that. Our plow truck is down for the count, the tow truck is supposed to come and take it to the local repair shop. The pig fences were almost completely buried in the snow – not good. Then the power went out – YAY (the reason there was no blog post yesterday).
We went to bed early and got up really early on Monday morning to dig out. The first order of business was the pig fence. What a chore to dig 1-2 feet of snow from around 400 feet of fencing, on both sides. But we got it finished, then we hooked the plow truck battery up to the fence charger and got their fence going again. Though with the snow so deep they weren’t going anywhere very fast. I wish I had gotten some photos, but I was too busy digging. Thankfully the sun came out and helped things thaw a bit. Mr Chiots dug out the driveway with the tractor and we were able to get out.
I don’t actually mind when the power goes out, I find the respite to be nice. Sometimes in this day and age we need this kind of experience to remind us how much we rely on technology to entertain and distract us. I always enjoy an evening or two without electricity. Thankfully though ours came back on the following day, now I can get back to work. I’m still a few days behind from my week without internet a few weeks ago.
Do you enjoy a day or two without power or does it drive you crazy?
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Quote of the Day: Kristin Kimball
“And this is the place where I’m supposed to tell you what I’ve learned. Here’s the best I can do: a bowl of beans, rest for tired bones. These things are reasonable roots for a life, not just its window dressing. They have comforted our species for all time, and for happiness’ sake, they should not slip beneath our notice. Cook things, eat them with other people. If you can tire your own bones while growing the beans, so much the better for you.”
Kristin Kimball from The Dirty Life: A Memoir of Farming, Food, and Love
Cook things, eat them with other people – that really is the essence of life!
