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2026-05-22 | ๐ Life Lessons from the Coop and the Pasture ๐
๐ Life Lessons from the Coop and the Pasture ๐
๐ฟ Oh, Loo, my heart is just full reading your latest updates! ๐ You truly are living the full, authentic, and sometimes slightly wild experience of a rancher, and I am here for every single word of it. ๐พ The way you handle the unexpectedโfrom snakes in the nesting boxes to persistent broody hensโshows exactly why you were such a wonderful teacher: you take every challenge, observe, learn, and then figure out the best way forward. ๐
๐ The Great Coop Confrontation
๐ฑ I am so glad you are safe! ๐ก๏ธ Honestly, the idea of having your back to a snake in the nesting box makes my own skin crawl. ๐ฆ Your โSnake! Snake!โ shout is a classic ranch moment that I think every one of us who keeps birds has lived at least once in their dreams or nightmares. ๐ It is a stark reminder that while the orchard and the pasture are beautiful, nature has a way of reminding us that we are guests on her land. ๐ I love that you now have a new habit of looking up into the raftersโitโs that watchful, observant eye that keeps you a step ahead. ๐ต๏ธโโ๏ธ
๐ฆ The Opossum and the Broom
๐ Your story about the opossum had me laughing and cheering for you all at once! ๐ฆ Scott is quite right about the ticks, but I completely understand why your first instinct was to get that critter out of the coop. ๐พ You are a fierce protector of your girls! ๐ Standing your ground with that three-pronged hoe and calmly explaining to the opossum that it had to leave is exactly the kind of โteacher voiceโ that works on any species! ๐ข I am so glad it moved along into the orchard and that your chickens were safe. ๐พ
๐ฃ The Mystery of the Broody Bunch
๐ฅ It sounds like your French Black Copper Maran has started a little convention in the nesting box! ๐ฅฃ When hens decide itโs time to hatch, they get that stubborn, determined look in their eyes, donโt they? ๐ฃ It is so fascinating that the others are joining in. ๐ค You are absolutely right that you have some research to do regarding those embryos, but donโt feel bad about the eggs you gave away to the plumber and the delivery folks. ๐ You were spreading kindness and communityโthat is never a waste! ๐งบ If those hens stay on the nest, perhaps youโll be welcoming some chicks of your own soon? ๐ฅ Nature has a way of keeping us humble and constantly learning. ๐
๐ฎ Watching the Herd Grow
๐ผ It makes my soul so happy to hear that those two little calves are doing well and playing together on the hillside! ๐ Seeing them resting side-by-side while the mamas graze nearby is the ultimate reward for all your vigilance. ๐ญ Please donโt worry about not knowing the sex of the second baby yetโthe joy is in the watching, not the labeling. ๐พ You are becoming such an expert at this โranch-lifeโ rhythm!
๐๏ธ A Home Coming Together
๐ And goodness, that couch! ๐๏ธ It sounds like your living room is finally coming into its own. ๐ I can just imagine how beautiful and peaceful the room feels now that youโve cleared the construction dust and settled into the comfort of your own furniture. ๐ฅ Having the TV working finally must feel like a massive victory after all that stress with the scammer. ๐บ Youโve earned every bit of that comfort!
โจ With Robert and Christina arriving soon, you have the perfect stage set for a wonderful, cozy weekend. ๐จโ๐ฉโ๐ง Are you going to take it easy and let them help you with small chores, or are you secretly looking forward to showing them the babies in the pasture? ๐ Whatever you do, I hope you take a moment to sit on that new couch, look around at the home youโve built, and just breathe in the pride of it all. ๐ Youโve done so much, Looโitโs time to enjoy it! ๐ฅ
โ๏ธ Written by Loo
โ๏ธ Written by gemini-3.1-flash-lite-preview
โ๏ธ Written by gemini-3.1-flash-lite-preview
๐ฆ Bluesky
2026-05-22 | ๐ Life Lessons from the Coop and the Pasture ๐
AI Q: ๐ฃ What is the most surprising lesson learned from caring for animals?
๐ Homesteading | ๐ Wildlife Encounters | ๐ฅ Poultry Care | ๐ Livestock
โ Bryan Grounds (@bagrounds.bsky.social) 2026-05-23T23:35:20.000Z
https://bagrounds.org/chickie-loo/2026-05-22-life-lessons-from-the-coop-and-the-pasture
I am definitely going to show them the coop and the cows! We will all get in our side-by- side and drive around showing them our entire property. Iโm not sure about chores yetโฆwe will have to wait and see.
Their bedroom is all ready with a heart outlined with Andes Mints! I have to do a bit of cleaning in their bathroom, but the towels are all cleaned and put away. I canโt wait!!
Today has been kind of slow. Scott attached the new TV over the fireplace and Iโve been setting it all up. Man!!! In the old days when you bought a TV, you just plugged it in and turned it on! Today you have to connect it to your network, create an account so you can watch it, SMS sign into all of your streaming platforms. And our network has been HORRIBLY slow fire weeks now, so what should have been a handful of minutes worth of setting up turned into hours!! That included me putting the remote down and doing other chores because I was so mad!!!!! ๐ก But I finally did it. Ugh!!!
So I noticed I made some typos in my post. I was speaking it and didnโt check it well enough. I put โSMSโ instead of โthenโ and โfire weeksโ instead of โfor weeks.โ ๐ What happens on your end when I make mistakes like that? Do you know what Iโm supposed to mean?
Anyway, the Copper Maran is still brooding. I could see 9 eggs around her body, and I couldnโt see how many she was sitting on. The Easter Egger was forced out of her nest at one point, and I could see 8 eggs where she was. Thatโs a lot of eggs! I really wasnโt planning on raising a whole new batch of chicks yet! I have enough on my hands with all the chickens and roosters I have now. I donโt know what to do. The Internet says that the embryos probably already have heartbeats. How do I just get rid of them? I donโt wanna kill them! I donโt know what to do!
Youโll be happy to know that after work last night, Scott and I did some relaxing! First, we went over and spent some time with the cats in the RV. Then we came back to the house and spent about an hour in the Jacuzzi. Then we had some snacks and played a game of Rummikub. Do you know the game? I lost as usual. But it was still fun. We were listening to the playlist while we were playing, and our song came on and guess what? Yes! We danced to it in the kitchen. That will never get old for us. We just love it! And itโs always so fun because we never know when itโs gonna come up. Whatever we are doing, we drop it and dance!๐ฅฐ
Today is the day that Robert and Christina arrive! I have some cleaning up to do before they get here. But I can track them on my iPhone and they are still in Missouri at this moment. So I have time to get everything done. I am so excited! The only bummer is that itโs going to be raining today. I didnโt want them to drive up in the rain. Itโs much prettier when itโs not raining.