Boo has been banished outside because he was skunked yesterday morning. Poor BooBoo. The skunk off will handle it but I hate the smell of that too. I use this because it is fast and effective. I have never had a dog get skunked at a time when I have lots of spare time to make up remedies. I just wait an hour, spray where he was hit, then leave it. A good brush later in the day will sort it out. 
I told him to make himself useful and wash the windows while he was out there. Now we go to summer skunk rules: the dogs must be inside at night and only let out after the sun is up. Bang on the barn doors before opening them. It is always just at dawn that the skunk surprises us.
I spent most of the afternoon cleaning out the big central pen so we can divide it into a smaller draft free pen for the baby goats when they arrive in a few weeks. This meant that I was in the barn for hours, still in the 20s but warm enough to work without a jacket. Shovelling is hot work. But my compost heap is growing. This will be all taken down the back with the tractor, and it will compost for a year. John turns it with the tractor. His compost is fantastic but I have to use trickery to get any of it for my flower gardens. He does not like to share! 
Though for now it is frozen solid.
As I worked it was entertaining to watch barn life around me. The barn is much more fun when it is not feed time and it is warm enough to hang out. The animals relax and go about their business as though I am just another animal in the barn.
The two Dutchies are very quiet girls they just stand and watch. Tima and Tane spent the entire time trying to climb up the hay bales ripping good mouthfuls of alfalfa out as they went. They can climb those two naughty pigs. I had to lock them back in their run or they would eat me out of house and home.
The peahens took it in turns showing off their own tails, while Godot hung out with the chickens. Flirts. 
Sheila spent a good part of the afternoon remaking her bed. She gathers huge mouthfuls of straw and carefully plugs the holes where a draft might be leaking in, then puts her head down and rakes the pile high with her foot. Poppy takes no notice at all. She is no kind of housekeeper that girl. Just a destroyer. Like one of those nasty kids on the beach who kick sandcastles. Twice Sheila roared at her and chased her right out of the barn.
The guineas are some of the oldest birds on the property. Only two left but they eat for six.
Such old birds and never been caged. And those kittens have taken to ambushing the old chooks, making them shriek loudly and fly cackling into the Gods. This is a stage all the kittens go through. Chasing the matronly chickens. Amusing themselves. Naughty. The guineas watch. No-one plays with the guineas. Too old.
Good morning. I hope you have a lovely day. It is even warmer for us today. Time to start feeding the bees. More on that tomorrow. And from across the way all I got was this. More from them tomorrow too! 
I heard a rumour that daylight saving was coming soon, not that it will bother me but already? Is this true? It seems awfully early or is spring that late?
Love your friend on the farmy,
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
49 responses to “Barn Life.”
It’s good to hear the temperature is rising. Poor Boo 😦
Time change is earlier than it used to be — they changed the dates a few years ago. Poor Boo.
ah so then it IS the cold. Usually John is back at work by this time then. Long winter.
Ha ha what a face staring through the window! Poor boo x
Ahhh, thank you Miss C, for the cow rear-ends…this will do for now 😉 I bet we are going to be surprised at how big everyone is when we get the full view. I would love to have a conversation with those old matriarch guineas. I bet they have some stories to tell of things even Miss C doesn’t know. If Boo does a decent job on the windows can you ship him out to me? I have an entire house that needs doing.
Poor Stinky Boo 🙂 Laura
poor BooBoo its not his fault if some nasty old skunk decided to spray him..mind you it is a nasty smell, but the old boy looks so sad…Love to see all the animals playing and busy working. Sheila is a dream of a pig…Lovely to know you have warm days…somebody dumped snow in our garden whilst I was asleep…keep smiling
Oh, poor Boo. I always feel sorry for dogs when they come off worst in an encounter with a skunk. They live so much through their noses, and the smell is, well, appalling! He must be in hell, poor great big softie.
I’m not quite sure why I love guineas so much, yet I do. I’m sure I would be very happy with a little farm of guineas, chickens and goats.
Are your guineas too old to be laying eggs Celi? If they are laying, and you can find their nest, you can grab the eggs and pop them in your incubator, and wha-la….more guinea chicks for the farmy!!! We love are guineas too, but they do get quite noisy!!! But, they eat the ticks and chiggers, so they are a blessing!!! xo
I have had guinea fowl for eight years and NEVER seen a nest. they have never laid.. they also do all their insect hunting in the fields (corn and beans) no use to our gardens at all!! laugh! c
It is very hard to find the nests, as guineas are so secretive! We have found nests full of eggs right under our noses, and had no idea they were there! The females all share the same nest, laying their eggs and sitting on it to keep warm, in shifts, or even two together. It is really cool! But finding them is hard. You must watch to see if the other guineas are sort of hanging around in one area. Also, they are so camouflaged, and they sit so still, that you could almost walk within an inch of two of them on the nest and not see them!
You are lucky, mine ust sit on the fences and stare! c
Sunday we all spring forward an hour. Brutal. What spring? I am so sick of putting on all the layers before heading out. It was -24C with the wind chill yesterday. Send some of your warm-ish air up here, would you? My garden is still under 50 cm of snow.
What are the old birds generally for?
These old birds in the barn are housekeepers, keeping the straw turned over, etc. They are the original flock. I like having chickens in the barn.. c
We have such similar situations but in opposite climates – fascinating. No skunks here but I do remember the smell from my childhood in Canada!
I’m not in sync with the time change this year either. It seems much too early. I’ll need to hang curtains in the baby’s room so she believes it’s bedtime on Sunday.
Poor Boo, he must be miserable . We have skunks living in the neighborhood and they are nasty. You have a great barn with all those different animals.
Ha ha, what a “naughty” post! I love it! I feel for Boo. I have been very fortunate here as we have many skunks and my little house dogs have come close, as I have myself, to getting sprayed by a night or early morning marauding skunk around the house. I have observed Daisy deer sidestepping this aromatic critters many times. I have also noticed skunks try to avoid contact with us as well… creating just a little racket (as you pointed out) gives them a chance to escape us. Have a lovely day! They say it will hit 60° here today! YIPPIE!! 😀
Poppy should be paying a bit more attention to Sheila’s housekeeping practices, if only to keep her out of trouble with Auntie S. Maybe her homewrecking antics means she will be coming into heat soon. Poor BooBoo. Hopefully, he will get to sleep in the house tonight. Nice pile of compost for the tractor. Goats do love to climb things from what I have seen. Maybe we can build them a goatie jungle gym to play on. 🙂 Have a good day, C.