The peacocks and the peahens are still living together in the loft of the barn in perfect harmony. I occasionally hear one of their big calls but so far they have all been very quiet. They tend to keep to the dark side of their palace, which runs almost the whole length of the barn.
They will stay in there until the vegetable gardens are established (they love to eat vegetable gardens) and until I am quite sure they see the barn as their night time roosting place. The wild is a dangerous place for big birds like this. Plus, minks can take down peacocks too. Best they stay up above the pigs and out of harms ways hopefully.
We still have not seen anything more of the mink, though I am afraid to turn off the big light in the chook house in case this is helping deter him. But it is very hard on the chooks to have light all the time. The wildlife camera has only seen chickens, nothing else so far. Every night I take Boo in there and he gets into all the corners with his nose but no excitement from him. I am hoping the smell of a dog may help keep a wild animal out but I am not sure about that either. Their coop is locked down hard I hope we can get away with it. But somehow I don’t think we have seen the last of the murderous mink.
The barn flock have escaped unscathed so far.
You may have seen the fire hydrants we have planted at the corners of the gardens, these are to pull the hoses around and it is getting drier now, so we are watering all the seedlings that have already been planted. Now my hose pulling muscles are getting a work out. Some of the hydrants are over 100 years old, and they do look for all the world like little happy people with very short arms. I love them and cannot help but pat them as I walk past. Or drag past as the case may be. 
The asparagus is coming up too! We may even have a bunch for dinner tonight.
Today I am going to drive down to the seed merchants and buy some more grass seed. There are a lot of unsettling dead patches in the fields, one variety of forage did not make it through the winter. So there is some resowing to do. And already the animals are looking longingly out into the fields. Not yet though. A few weeks to go yet. Sigh.
Daisy’s milk is still clean of any indications of mastitis and her last bad quarter is now milking at almost the same rate as the rest. The infection will come back because it is a low grade chronic variety, but I will be ready for it. Until then I think I can take her down to two milkings a day. I have started her mastoblast (a homeopathic remedy) to build her immune system and hopefully maintain her healthy udder for a while.
Now that it is warm the gardens are beckoning. Isn’t life a grand thing.
I hope you all have a lovely day.
Love your friend on the farm
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
54 responses to “Peacock Palace”
Fingers crossed for Daisy and that the murderous mink stays away!!
Thank you Selma, fingers crossed here too.. c
Hi Celi,
Around our area there is a ‘home remedy’ used often to keep skunks out of yards and gardens that may work for your Chook House … ? The fellas of the household create a … hmmm… I guess I should use polite ‘medical’ terms here … urine line as a barrier. The skunks won’t cross it. I’ve always thought it quite funny that skunks seemed to find that odour unpleasant! 😉
Ha, that is an interesting home remedy, makes sense when you think about it.. I have dogs for that too!..but they only pee on the corners.. c
On the UK, Serious gardeners swear by diluted urine in a compost heat. There are some guys who refuse to waste a drop down the loo!
Glad to hear that the dreaded invader has not been seen lately. Enjoy the spring-ish day. Love my new calendar!
Glad it arrived Kim.. it is lovely here too.. c
Throw away all your Sherlock Holmes stories; your blog is more action packed and mystery inducing than anything Ian Fleming could muster in his wildest imagination! I do hope everything continues to work out in your favor. DOWN WITH MINKS.
morning Miss C: that’s why they make mink coats. be a blessing mike
minks normally live by water ways set your trap near the water cover the outside with straw and decent the trap before you set it up. canned cat food is best try liver stinks best they like the innards
ah, good thinking, especially the straw, I will do that.. c
they like dark places to eat. the straw is to give a safe feeling place that hides the trapbe sure to cover top sides and back .
Those plonkers are adorable – I’ll have to start a pig farm… 😉
you really should Mad! You love pigs.. c
Life on the Farmy is grand indeed 🙂 Laura
A lovely healthy round-up today – so glad Daisy’s getting better. Are the new peacocks friendly with the peahens yet?
They all stand about quietly, but the boys are juveniles so there will be no ‘friendliness’ for a year or more..
I’ve always loved seeing the hydrants in your gardens…when I was a child, my town had a Paint Your Hydrant contest – most of them were made to look just like little people 🙂
My asparagus finally poked its nose above-ground, but it’s still about the size of my thumb…soon, though!
Have a marvelous, sunny day, C!
Glad your ‘mink’ is staying away! It’s heartbreaking when you lose hens to wild creatures. yes I know they have to live too – but not on my land!
Busy here as things are popping up everywhere. Peas are up, beans are showing. Problem is we are still getting frosts and even had a couple of hard freezes last week. Did a number on my Kiwi vines, but I think they will recover. Mowing season has started, and I mowed back and front lawns and the field next door at the weekend. Finding which muscles slept in too long over the winter LOL.
Hugs, Lyn
Oh I have those muscles too, am with you on that one.. your garden is way ahead of ours, the ground is still not warm enough.. c
Your garden is way ahead of us also. I will not plant anything until Mother’s Day since we are still having killing frosts. No I must hide myself out to see if there is an asparagus out…nothing is better than fresh asparagus!
✿♥ღLinda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
Think you may be right about that mink. Fingers crossed that he loses interest. I was able to get some seedlings out as well. Isn’t it wonderful the deep freeze is behind us?
I know, though i still find myself looking over my shoulder for the ‘chance of snow!!’ .. have a great day.. c
I’m trying to be optimistic. We can get snow through May and sometimes still on the ground in June though that’s really rare. 🙂 Enjoy the warmth!
ssshhh.. c
😊
I’m curious…do the peacocks ever come down from their palace? Does the uuhhhuuummm pea-poop fall down below them, or do you have to climb up to the palace to tidy up?? I love how you have everything so coordinated!!
The peafowl will descend into the farm in about a month, when the vegetables are established and if they behave they can stay out until the tomatoes and grapes begin to ripen – after the harvest they are free to roam until next spring. There is a bed of straw and hay below them which I will sweep out at the end of each stay. Their palace is so large that in fact there is very little build up.
Such happy little fire hydrants – they look pleased to have landed in a good spot.
Will clumps of dog hair keep minks away?
I think the biggest deterent is actually the dogs loose in the night.. since leaving them out, the mink has stayed away.. lets hope he has discovered some rabbit holes!.. c
Just love the ‘plonker posing on the fence’ shot Celi!!! And excited about you eating asparagus! We had our first crop of about 12 succulent, delicious, purple stalks a couple of night ago. Blissful eating!!! 🙂
Those first tastes are wonderful aren’ they.. c
So happy the Mink has not been back and that Daisy is feeling better. You all could use a break!
We seem to have entered a nice moment of calm, time to breathe.. c