The kids had a good time hunting for Easter eggs in the slushy snow. They did a kids hunt with the little kids getting a bit of a head start. They found plastic eggs with candy and some had sheets of paper redeamable for dollar bills. The grande prize was the egg with the piece of paper worth $5. There was also an adult hunt for the Easter bunny. NO JUST KIDDING!!!! There really was an adult hunt but it was for the plastic eggs with candy and sheets of paper numbered 1-8. After the hunt we all reasembled at the town hall for a hotdog potluck lunch. The kids redeamed their papers for cash and the adults redeamed theirs for GIANT candy bars. Number 1 got first pick and so on and so forth. It was a good lunch with tons of good food. There is never a shortage of great food at a Manley Hot Springs gathering that is for sure! Special thanks to those who worked behind the scenes putting this event together.
 |
| Clearing the lot |
I would have liked to have attended the Easter service at the church on Sunday but Ken doesn't get much for time off and he wanted to try to start getting some stuff over to the other property. That was an adventure in and of itself and like church involved alot of prayers. (GRRRRR just lost another key off my keyboard, that makes three time to order a new one). Anyway back on track. First we took some stuff back on the broken gooseneck that actually went pretty well considering the missing tire were the axel sheared off and the messed up tire(which happened trying to haul the floor lumber from Fairbanks). The next was the equipment trailer with the floor lumber. That started off ok. We knew it had some damage but didn't know the extent until we got out on the trail and realized that the axel was about 4" further back than it should be. We we're able to jack it up and pull it forward with a combination come along and prying. Then we put in a bolt that we had. A bit further down the trail and it sheered off. Thats when we really got to looking under there and saw that the spring on the opposite side was broken. The jack on the front of the trailer was messed up too so it was a two man job to get it to go down like it should. Then we would lift the back with the forks on the backhoe bucket. Needless to say once we got it back there which took the rest of the day it stayed there. It took alot of lifting pushing and adjusting to get it back there. The good news is though that we have the concreat and lumber to get started on the floor. Now we have to pick a spot, clear it and get started on the foundation columns. Piece of cake right ;)? The trail is already turning to mud and we haven't seen anything yet. We may have to get really creative to get our building materials back in there. It's about 2 miles of trail. I want to actualy check the odometer next time and see exactly how far it is off the highway.
The chickens are getting big starting to hear one trying to crow.
 |
| Americanas on Feeder |
 |
| Red Chantecler On Waterer |
 |
| Polish |
 |
| Polish Front Americana Back |
 |
| Polish |
Can't wait to butcher these Meat birds they are so fat and gross looking. It's nice that they grow so fast so you can butcher them sooner but man are they gross! They poop so much more than the others and they just look gross because their feather growth can't keep up with their fat bodies. They seem kinda mean too. I will not miss them when their gone!
 |
| Cornish X Meat Birds |
 |
| Another Hard Days Work |
Blessings
Sarah Sue :)
How can you look forward to killing a chicken??? You do a lot of stuff I wouldn't do, but that i upsetting to me. I hope you don't let the kids watch it???? The new site looks pretty..if you ever quit having problems with the equipment.
ReplyDeleteI love my laying birds and they are hard to butcher even when you have to cut down on your roosters. They each have a personality and can be very sweet. Those meat birds though are freaks, I was going to say of nature but there in lies the problem. They are a man made genetic mutatation. They grow so big so fast that if you don't butcher them soon enough they will actually criple under their own weight. They have a very poor quality of life because of that, though we have treated them with the same love and respect as our layers. They are also very mean and are attacking the kids. The one rooster that I had no problem butchering in the past was one that kept attacking Lisa to the point were he was knocking her down and going after her face. Yes, Lisa has watched us butcher chickens before. She understands that they have a purpose to be food. We are very humain and our animals are treated with love and respect and we make their end as calm and fast as possible. Our kids have a great respect for the meat that they eat because they understand were it comes from. I feel better about eating an animal that I know lived a good life and had a fast and clean death as apposed to what comes under celephane at the supermarket. Those animals have a horrible life and meet a cruel and painful end.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up some very valid points..as usual!!! I guess never having lived the life you are living it is hard for me to fathom....I am sure your kids will grow up with a healthier respect for a lot of things...toys, clothe, etc. Any results on Lisa's tests? Are you going to start building soon, and live in the house you are in now while you are doing it? Gosh, just think, a winter under your belt already....and you survived!!!!
ReplyDeleteWhere we live in central Florida is right downtown in the middle of everything! Crime, Sirens 24/7. Sure we have a great view of the lake if you can get past all the noise!
ReplyDeleteYour place looks like Heaven to me :) I'm from the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia and I would Love to move back to the country.
I know your place will be Awesome!!
You are in our thoughts and prayers
Liz
Man you sure have the part about better quality of life right. That also means much better tasting meat. We have 60-100 chickens at any time that we allow to free range.. yeah we loose some to hawks and such but they are so much better than store bought. We only feed them as day old chicks for a couple weeks. Our 4 kids do all the butchering. Our 8 year old daughter has a little harder time as she names many of them but she still enjoys the food. It dramatically effects the way they look at store bought food! All of them would rather raise them and butcher them if you ask! Best of luck with your construction work! Thanks for the update. God bless.
ReplyDeleteI have a few used keyboards I'd love to place in a box and mail to you if you'd like to have them. Seriously! My husband collects computer parts/stuff and they are just sitting around taking up space. If you're interested, please consider my random act of kindness and I'll put them in a box and mail them to you for free. My email address is freezerburned@hotmail.com
ReplyDeleteP.S. I loved your easter egg hunt story, especially the part about getting together afterwards. Community is everything!
susan arthur
Thank you Susan but it's a laptop. I found a replacement Keyboard on Amazon with free shipping for $24.99 so not too bad. I should be able to put it in myself. I've done some internal stuff on my older computers never on a laptop though so it will be a learning experiance. :)
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the pictures. Looks like you had a lot of fun during the Easter Egg hunt. Susan is right, Community involvement is essential.
ReplyDelete