The Call Again Farm Journal

When am traveling and tell people I live near Buffalo, New York, they invariably say something about snow.  Many people think Buffalo is like Alaska, with snow all year round.  (That, too, is a misconception.  I've been to Alaska, and can personally attest that the summer weather is lovely - warm, but not too hot, with tons of flowers all around.)  Buffalo does get its fair share of snow, but there are other places in New York state that get more.

I woke up this morning to the first snow of the winter to "stick".  (I know it's not technically winter yet, but it sure seems like it!)  There was about three inches of snow on the deck in the morning, and then it snowed all day.  At times, the neighbor's field looked like a Christmas card picture, with lots of big snowflakes being blown by a gentle wind.  It looked lovely, but the snow and the cold made butchering more unpleasant.

Also, because of the snow I now have a hurt shoulder.  The chicken coop is only four feet high, and is accessible through the roof.  Bob swept the snow off the roof this morning, but more kept accumulating all day.  Even an inch of snow makes the roof a lot heavier.  I lifted the roof with a little bit of snow on it, and now my shoulder is quite sore.

After butchering turkeys was done, I took a long, warm bath.  It was a great way to warm up, and it felt good to soak my poor shoulder!

We have a problem with the turkeys.  Bob found a worm in one of the turkeys we butchered today.  Many people de-worm their birds in the fall, but we never have before.  Now I have to research natural/organic de-worming products for my remaining turkeys.

Last evening, when I went to put the turkeys away, it seemed like there were awfully few of them.  I puzzled over that for a good thirty seconds.  I finally attributed that to the fact that the turkey were wet and huddled, in stead of fluffy and puffed out like usual.  Then Dianna mentioned that the flock looked so small with the four turkeys missing that Bob and I had butchered the day before.  Mystery of the tiny turkey flock solved!  My flock looks still smaller today because Bob butchered four more.  It's amazing what a difference a few turkeys can make!

What a miserable day!  The temperature is hovering right around freezing, and a what the radio calls a "wintery mix" (alternating rain, sleet, and snow) has been coming down all day.  I couldn't have chosen a worse day for turkey pick-up.  I showed a new customer my turkeys, and they were so wet and miserable that the toms (males) wouldn't even make the "gobble" noise for her!  I am also having pick-up tomorrow and Wednesday, so I hope the weather is better then. 

I only got one chicken egg today.  Bob needs to put the second light up, and get a fence up around the garden so the chickens can go outside when the weather is nice enough.  After those things are done, the additional light should stimulate them so their rate of lay will go back up some.