We bought a weatherproof wildlife camera to record visitors to the chicken coop, just to see what’s out there trying to score a free chicken dinner. I set it up on Sunday and set it so the camera goes off whenever the sensor detects motion. I checked the flash card every day, and usually it…
Category: castle frostbite.
newsletter from castle frostbite, july 2012.
Oh, hey there, Internets! Team Munchkin Wrangler had a busy week and a relaxing weekend. The kids enjoyed their science summer camp, and I enjoyed my five morning Dadcations. Lyra was in preschool day camp, which let out at noon, and Quinn’s camp let out at 3. I dropped them off in the mornings, went…
science camp week.
The new chicken run, completed and populated. This week is a complete change in pace for us. The kids are attending a science day camp every day until Friday, which means we leave the house early. I get to drop them off and then take a few hours out in Hanover or West Lebanon to…
desperate times, desperate measures.
The fox is still out there. The chickens have been cooped up in their house for three days now, and they are getting a little fidgety. This weekend, the temps will hit the 90s again, and then Cluckheim Keep will be too warm during the day. So we had to commission a quick emergency project—a…
fox two.
Another fox grabbed a chicken on the front lawn just a little while ago. I ran out, and he let go of the chicken and ran off. This time, I didn’t have a good shot, and he was running toward the public road anyway. Two hours of patrolling and coaxing later, I have seven chickens…
dachshunds with disabilities.
After a few nighttime incidents with Elderly Dog, the Castle now sports a handful of handicapped access ramps for geriatric dachshunds: There’s another contraption on the dog door that leads into the garage. It’s a nifty ramp that can be raised and lowered from the inside of the house. That makes four special handicapped access…
chicken fortress.
The chickens have a new home, the mighty Cluckheim Keep. There are some leveling and roof issues to be worked out this weekend, but Cluckheim Keep should be reasonably fortified against predators. They can’t tunnel into it, and those walls are pretty hard to chew through.
it’s a northern frost toad. they eat granite.
Tiny toad. Miss Lyra with Tiny Toad. That girl is absolutely fearless and non-squeamish when it comes to getting dirty and handling critters. Her brother is a bit more cautious in that respect. He would have looked at the toad, but he wouldn’t have touched it. And he wouldn’t have come running, toad between thumb…
them chickens is organized.
I’m a little surprised at how much I enjoy having chickens around. Our ten chicks have turned into ten pullets that are almost fully grown adult hens now. We still have all ten of them—no accidents, predators, or other attrition, although one of them had a run-in with a dachshund that luckily only ended in…
the new summertime desk.
At my request, our very handy handyman used some of the old floorboards from the renovation project to make this neat little bar-type shelf on the covered porch area. It’s just the right height for use as a standing desk, and the windows overlook the backyard where the kids and dogs are frolicking. That means…