My trail cam has been hanging out in the back of the lot, snapping pictures of (in order of volume) cats, raccoons, opossums, birds, and deer.
I like seeing the deer. I haven’t been seeing any on my walks when I’m in the neighborhood, but I’m glad to see some deer are near.
I am particularly thankful for the extra vents that my husband included along the top of the chicken coop. There are six vents in addition to the vents in the eaves, and it helps with circulation especially in the summer. When I made the vent covers with the simple wooden latch, I was going for very simple just to have something to close the extra ventilation when it was cold. It is always nice when something works out better than planned. Because the latches are large, I can work them with the end of a handle, and don’t have to get a stool or ladder to get up there and close them by hand. So in our Texas “winters” when the temperature reaches up into the 70s, but then drops below freezing, I can open up everything quickly for the day, and close up just as quickly as night approaches.
I switched to a silicone wedding ring awhile ago to help prevent injuries. But there is something about the gray band on my finger that is irresistible to the chickens and they frequently try to take it. (Once one even succeeded and I had to chase her down to get it back!) This is the first time I’ve sustained injury from a ring stealing attempt though. I think I will try a different band and see if a different color holds less appeal. Because this HURT.
I have been looking into the recycled egg carton debate and have decided that I can’t risk reusing egg cartons. My youngest has a compromised immune system and unintentionally growing bacteria in reused cartons is too risky. I don’t wash my eggs until right before I use them (except if they are dirty), so there is a higher risk for contaminating the carton. I bought a wire egg rack for my counter eggs that can be wiped down and a washable tray for the refrigerated hard boiled eggs. The wire egg rack holds 36 eggs as advertised, and takes up less room on the counter than two 18 egg cartons, which is nice.
My eldest and I tore up the used egg cartons and put them in the compost. Tearing up paper is good for getting out aggression too. Bonus.
I bought new egg cartons online for transporting eggs. Although we have been going through the eggs in about a week, so don’t often have an excess.
I thought today I would share my cat bowl hack. Our grocery store carries plastic salsa bowls for $1 each (this may be a southern thing). These make awesome cat food bowls because the feet raise up the food a little for the cats, they are dishwasher safe, and if they drop, they don’t shatter. They are heavier than regular plastic bowls, so don’t move as much as the cats lick the last bits from the bottom. And the cats love them. So much so that Izzy (the inside calico), refuses to eat from the other bowls we have.
Critters and Craft 