Hard to be a bird in our forest recently.

1) Gambol brought us 2 wings on Sunday. They look suspiciously like Freddy's. We don't believe he did the deed. He was very proud to give us the presents. But, we haven't seen the grouse for a while.
2) I found a fluff ball of owl feathers. No owl attached.
3) Gambol wretched up a small bird carcass. I thought it was a hairball but upon closer inspection we saw a toe nail and string of crop, gizzard, stomach, etc. He and the Baron found a dead Cedar Waxwing along the fence and were practicing retrieves with the carcass. We retrieved it all right but not the preferred way.
4) And today only 4 chickens came home to roost. They've been wandering far from the coop down to the septic mound; 1 has always lagged behind or gone off solo. This time she made it the ultimate solo. They'll probably spend some time confined to give the predator time to move on. Besides we are looking for 1-3" snow overnight, and the girls really don't like snow at all. It figures that we'll have a storm: the Baron took the snowplow off last weekend.

His timing was great on fertilizing and seeding the meadows. He spent most of Saturday walking behind a small subdivision-house sized fertilizer in 40 mph gusts but somewhat less time on Sunday with a hand held rotary (clover) seed flinger. On Sunday his face was red from sunburn not windburn. The freeze/thaw cycle we will have for then next several days will lay the seed firmly into the soil.

Freddy and graduation

As we headed out to Gambol's PetCo graduation test, we stopped by the Toy Shed to put the truck away. What a surprise to see Freddy whistling to his friend the Baron. We haven't see the bird in a long time so we sort of thought he had either grown up and wary or had been dinner for the local coyote population that Ron has told us about. He hung around the open shed door as if he lived inside. Gambol practically jumped through the glass when he saw the bird. I bet the Baron will take some grapes down to his old friend tomorrow; poor Gambol will certainly have to stay up on the hill for that.
Gambol did a terrific job at his last PetCo class. He hit every task right on and graduated with honors (Lindsay was good enough to make success easy); she did mention that his waist had disappeared. We need to monitor his treats and rewards and make them replacements for his regular food. We let him stay in the car while we celebrated at Otto's and toasted his success with a Jolly Rogers oak barrel aged stout. Wahoo! Since he'd rather be in the car than not, that was a treat for him although we took him some "beer-brined drunken chicken". One day last week I left the car outside so I could sweep out the garage; when he was allowed into the garage, he sprawled into the empty space as if to say, "When it comes back, I have first dibs."

Snow and ice

We've had another storm, rain all day yesterday and snow today. The temps hovered around freezing so we don't have much accumulation but the tinkling of ice on the trees as the breeze blows through is a disconcerting concert of the forest. Yesterday through this morning we had 1.30" water. The ground isn't totally frozen after last week's 40 degree days so we haven't gotten damaging runoff.
Freddy was waiting for his treat on his stump this afternoon. He chewed up his BOSS while the Baron watched, then they moved to another tree stump for a second helping, just in case the bear wasn't fully hibernated yet and wanted his/her share. Neither Freddy nor the Baron is as willing to banter in the cold as they were earlier this fall. They get down to the business of food quickly now.

We have reports of a pine siskin irruption but since they look so much like winter green goldfinches we haven't noticed them yet.
The girls don't spend much time outside these days. They don't like the wind ruffling their feathers, and are very uncomfortable without leaves to give them cover. Four seemed to have bonded; they huddle together on their roost, but the 5th is usually in one of the nest boxes when I check on them after work. I lift her onto the roost. Someday she may learn the socially appropriate bedding-down site. The 3 golf balls in the nest boxes aren't inducing egg laying activity; sometimes one or more is on the floor in the evening. They aren't eating much; not even the warm oatmeal and yogurt in the morning is as interesting now. I don't know if they are still discombobulated by the loss of Red and the rest of their flock or if the weather and lack of daylight concerns them. We only have another 3 minutes to lose in daylight before we start gaining again. Sunrise today was 0727 and sunset was 1644 (9:17 light today); December 21 sunrise is 0733 and sunset is 1647 (9:14 light). Then it gets cold.
This full moon is the (moonrise 1634, moonset 0736) biggest full moon of 2008, as much as 14% wider and 30% brighter than lesser moons we've seen earlier this year. An astronomer would say this is a "perigee Moon" because it occurs at perigee, the side of the Moon's elliptical orbit closest to Earth. Space Weather
We saw Michael who had the 1/8" drawings for us. They look good; we just had a few questions and changes to make. He had some information from the timberframing companies but none was very useful. Next up: a site visit to plan the houses' connection. He'll meet with Calvin Pierce, the geothermal man, and with Dave The Builder to see what they think so far. He says that we should be in the house next Christmas with plenty of room to spare. Wahoo!

Sunday

It's a great day to read by the fire: ice pellets and 32 degrees. We moved the chicken tractor to the Toy Shed for the winter and backed the (Kubota) tractor in so the Deer Hunter can hang his deer tomorrow. Weather is supposed to be more of the same for the first day of (rifle) hunting. Freddy met us at the Toy Shed for his sunflower seed treat. He hung around while we talked to Ron for about 20 min, purring and cooing, before he fluffed his ruff and fanned his tail and poked off into the pines and Aspen. Ron said he's been spending some time down their way. So has the bear; s/he molested Darlene's bird feeders again. Freddy has quite a range from below R/D's house to above our septic mound.
Last night we packaged the 8 pullets for the freezer but Red will be dinner tonight. Mashed potatoes or dumplings?
Update
We saluted Red's fine life tonight with mashed potatoes like Mom Mac (Greatgrandmother)used to make and a good Oktoberfest beer. He had much longer legs than the cornish Xs that are the normal commercial meaties and his wishbone is twice as long and slender. He tasted very chicken-y; it must have been the blueberries, watermelon, and all those fresh-still-on-the-vine tomatoes and peppers that kept him moist and tender.
I discovered on the forum that the Cornish meat birds have to be butchered between 4 and 8 weeks or they will flip (aka have a heart attack). One poster said they are like 5 year old skeletons in an obese 40 year old body, and that they don't behave like chickens because they have been so inbred for fast growth and meat, especially breast meat. They do things like lay on their side to take the weight off of their lungs so they can breathe better. These birds have to be fed carefully or they will eat themselves to death. Not my kind of bird at all. We'll stick with the slower growers. Barred Rocks were fun this year.

Reprieve in the weather

We don't have Fall back, but at least today is sunny. The girls had to stay inside as they reset themselves to their winter quarters.


We went out to find Freddy but he didn't come to the normal whistle and directional cues so we wandered on down the Jennifer Trail following tracks in the snow: cat (no claws), big dog (clawed pads) and lots of birds. We were half way up the hill to the feeder plateau when a thunderous wing beat, a helicopter down low or Freddy, took off behind me. He didn't stop to greet us but he flew in the direction of the normal rendezvous. We met up for a photoshoot, but he seemed intimidated or at least worried about having 2 of us there. Even the apples and grapes on the stump didn't calm him much; he pecked delicately at them while keeping one eye on me.

The Baron needs a situpon, perhaps the latest Cabela's catalog, if he's going to chat with Freddy for very long. The sun isn't strong enough to overcome the cold and wet ground.

Go State!

It's Roses for JoPa and his football team. Will there be a riot in State College tonight like there was after the Ohio State game? With any luck it's too cold: 2"-3" snow and a high of 25 degrees with a north to northeast wind. "Global warming my a**!" says the Baronial Weather Prognosticator (again).
The Baron made a nest box topper today that will prevent roosting on top and messing down under. We plugged in the water heater because they had crispy water this morning. We dumped more sawdust and some DE on the floor; the girls immediately got down and dirty...or is that clean? The purple cabbage that we hung on Thursday is about 75% gone.
Freddy greeted the Baron today and scarfed down the grape/apple treat. Snow was blowing sideways so neither hung out chatting.
Thanksgiving dinner at the Julian Community Center tonight, proceeds go to the Bellefonte Food Bank. This is always a nice place to meet neighbors. As we drove home up our hill we could see the stadium glow over Bald Eagle Mt. It's only 9 miles away but might as well be in a different state for the difference in cultures.

Freddy update

No Freddy today but it was blustery: cold with snow squalls although no accumulation after the .25" overnight. The grapes and apples that the Baron left yesterday were gone, but who knows who enjoyed Freddy's snack. He was waiting for his landlord yesterday and still looked healthy and friendly, so perhaps he was just assessing the far reaches of his kingdom today. He puffed up twice his normal size yesterday, probably a body heating mechanism. The Baron didn't stay sitting on the ground very long since he couldn't puff up his feathers against the wind.

Today is not a day for planting daffodils!

We are glad to have gotten all the bulbs we had ordered in the ground because today is cold, windy and snowy. I don't think we are expecting much accumulation. With these winds, Maplewood could accumulate our snow before we will. Down 4 degrees since wake up.
Turkeys appeared early this morning. I had just put out their breakfast and let the chickens out, about 7:30, when The Magnificent Eight came strutting to their table. We might rename our endeavor the Bed and Breakfast at the Barony. The chickens had a light breakfast of warm homemade yogurt (for protein and calcium) and oatmeal. They made their normal bee-line to the turkey table, when The Eight pushed the ladies and their roo off to Cardinal Run to join the chickadee, nuthatch, junco, titmouse and goldfinch flocks that enjoy the BOSS (black-oil sunflower seeds). Soon after retreating to Cardinal Run a snow squall came up and the chickens pushed further into the woods by the pine trees. I could only see them when they moved against the brown leaves and gray bark of the winter forest. Snow didn't bother the turkeys at all. They stayed around for a hour or so. The girls came back up the hill when The Eight had had their fill and moved off to their next course.
Freddy was missing for 2 days but the Baron took some grapes on his normal walk-about, just in case. He is back but didn't offer any explanation for his absence. They shared a few minutes at the log as the Baron offered green and red grapes. Since he's familiar with green grapes, (perhaps they look like aspen buds), he selected them first. Only when they were all gone did he try a red piece. Those were gone in seconds, too. The Baron tried to leave the bird to find some nails in the Toy Shed. No sooner had he turned his back than the grouse followed him through the door of the shed and wandered around inside checking it out. He must not have found anything worth eating because when the Baron walked out of the shed, shutting off the light, Freddy was at his heels--we have to walk away in a fake-out motion and then turn around quickly to shut the door before he decides to go back in on his own. The grouse still thinks he's a dog.

The new winter chicken coop is almost ready for residents. Walls (light purple like my room upstairs on Spring Ave), floor, nest box and roost stand (all deck gray), are painted with several coats, raccoon-proof clasp installed on door, hooks to hang feeder and toys have been installed. We have several bags of sawdust/wood chips and are just waiting for the water box and nest box ladder to dry. I'll get a couple of bales of hay to stack between the door and the roost for draft protection. Then they make the big move.
I advertised on Craigslist for a Whizbang Chicken Plucker to rent and got a call from a man 2 hollows away. This could be wonderful: convenient and fast. I called him tonight; he offered to help me do the deed at his place. Wahooo!
Afternoon Update
Snow burst--mountains disappearing out to west; chickens, AKA Fluffy Butts, are all out; bear under feeder; both cameras temporarily non-functional; we watched for a minute or so until he/she took off in an easterly gallop, shiny coat waving like a Herbal Essence (shampoo) commercial.

Freddy is still around

Freddy, the frantic (or perhaps friendly) grouse has been on our hill for over a week. He has taken up residence in the stand between the Toy Shed and the septic mound and comes running when the Baron walks through. Today the Baron sat on the ground and offered quartered grapes which Freddy sucked down greedily. Then he walked up the Baron's arm, across his shoulders and jumped up on to his head for a higher view of their territory, I guess. Luckily the Baron had his hat on because not only are Freddy's feet sharp, he pecks smartly too. (Looking for bugs in wood, perhaps?) He didn't seem to care for the pile of sand the Baron left for him to bathe in. In order to leave we have to jog quickly away or Freddy follows like a puppy who hasn't learned the "stay" command. It's hard to walk with him as he weaves between our legs, and even pecks at our pants.

The Pa Game Commission Field Note about grouse has an interesting article by Chuck Fergus which mentions the fall shuffle which distributes the year's young miles from home. Freddy is probably a young cock looking for his first log. We hope he stays around and successfully drums in several ladies next Spring. He's a beautiful bird.

17 weeks old
The chickens stay out of the wind by heading into the forest. Perhaps they'll have a tweet-meet with Freddy down there under the hemlock.

New Friend

We've heard that ruffed grouse will attack their reflection in hub caps and follow cars but this can't be a common sight. This little fellow waited on the porch for Ron to come out to play, followed him around the yard, pecked his leg when ignored and even even going up to his front door and looking in on his dog. Ron tried to lose him in the forest (took a walk with out any bread crumb trail to lead him home, I guess). We think it's a male since we think we see the dark band of the ruff. He's been around for about a week.

The grouse has moved up our hill and greeted the Baron at the toy shed tonight with several muted songs. They were sitting at the edge of the driveway when I came home and accommodated my photography for another 20 minutes. At one point the grouse retreated into the forest about 20 feet. He blended so well with his surrounding if he hadn't been making so much scratching and mewing noise we'd never have known the bird was there. The Baron was able to drum and blow air through his lips motorboat style to entice the grouse out into the open again. When the Baron tried to pet the grouse, they sparred, the grouse chirped and whistled, pecked and used his talons and wings to beat off the bigger aggressor. Although the bird did allow the Baron to touch him, he countered with some good hard pecks. The bird would jab left and run around the Baron's back. The Baron put out his hand and the bird jumped over it. We left the boxing match at a tie when darkness made photography impossible. It was an amazing experience and I am not exactly sure if he thought the Baron was a potential mate, a competitor, or he was just bored and wanted someone to play with.