Good morning,
It is hot and humid here too, but can't really complain when we get to the last half of June before the heat and humidity hits.
I worked in the garden for about 1 1/2 hours this morning. I now have all the melons, squash, cucumbers, and pumpkins weeded. I need to get those done because they are starting to vine. I have been working in the garden as much as I can, but the mosquitoes are terrible. I was out there last night and was killing 5-7 each time I swatted. I doubt I will go back tonight. I am one big itch right now. LOL Kevin asked me what happened to my back. It is covered with red bumps. Well duh! LOL
I cleaned all the water bottles/containers this morning. I try to do that once a week, more often with the ducks.
I have had a discouraging week around here. Last Wed/Thurs I had 25 more baby chicks hatch out. I took them down to the brooder Thurs. afternoon. I went to feed and water them on Friday morning and they were all gone.
I ran back to the house to get a hoe and flashlight. I was thinking snake, but how does a snake eat 25 baby chicks? I dug around in the bedding and found my babies. They were all piled up in a run that I found along with rat droppings. Huge rat droppings. I saw where rats had eaten a hole through a corner of the outside door to the brooder that I never use. Well, I spent all day Friday cleaning out the shed and putting hardware cloth on the outside and inside of the door. I think I have it tight now, but I am just not in the mood to try again.
I thought everything was fine. I went down yesterday morning and found where rats had tunneled under the shed my ducks are in. They killed one of my Anconas. Ok, that meant war. I dug down all around the outside of the shed. I put hardware cloth down a little over a shovel deep and fastened it to the shed. I covered the corners of the shed with hardware cloth. Then I took tin left over from roofing our little house and put that over the hardware cloth. I filled the dirt back in. Not good enough. I already had a special rodent box with a hole just big enough for rats to get in. I filled that baby with rat bar bait. Let them suckers eat their fill! I stuck this just under the eave of the shed close to where they tunneled under. None of our other animals can get to the poison, but I sure hope these rats have a fiest!!!
It cost me $40 for the hardware cloth and poison, but so worth it, if it saves my babies. I worked almost all day yesterday on this.
Between the work on sheds and the garden, I am wiped out. I am spending the day sitting in the ac working on Hayley's quilt.
Oh, by the way, I had no idea that we even had rats around here. Kevin told me that any time you have livestock, you have rats. Well, bummer. I plan to keep this little rodent box full of bar bait.
You all have a good day, and if you need me, I will be sitting in the rocker with a quilt on my lap and the ac cranked up. LOL
Blessings,
Winona
