As September comes to an end, we’re happy to see the weather becoming more mild. There were times when things felt less humid up here, but compared to what we’re used to, this was just as hot or hotter during the summer. I guess with how cold it got during the winter we expected it to stay cooler in the summer -that was not the case. But, as we adapt to life in north-central Florida, we have some more updates, including some excitement that happened around the homestead.
Flood Update
We’re happy to report that this month the flooding has not increased in size any more. Despite that, it is only slowly going back down. It seems when it rains the levels stay steady. Otherwise, it has gone down from the peak. And, there is a significant decrease in the amount of flooded land.
With that said, we first toured this property in September last year. And, there was absolutely no water on the ground then. Due to this, we really are hoping this was an anomalous year. Hopefully, this is the first and only time we post about excessive flooding around the property.
Lifestock Guardian Dog Growing
On the animal front, we still don’t have any new additions to the homestead. However, we are continuing to witness the growth of our Great Pyrenees Jadzia. She has grown to be a good-sized dog, but still has a way to go before she hits her fully grown size (which should be 90-100 pounds). Despite this, she continues to make progress in obedience and her hyperactivity is a little squelched this month. Hopefully, a sign of things to come!
Beyond this, she has started to bark more often. In some cases, we can actually go out and see what she is barking out. So, knowing she is actually barking at potential chicken predators means she is doing her job right. Ultimately, a livestock guardian dog is bred to bark at potential threats, so she seems to be growing into a respectable worker around here. And of course, she barked a lot when a certain incident happened earlier this month too.
Chicken Coop Disaster!
We almost posted a separate post about this when it happened, but as with most things lately, time got away from us. We’re making a vow to get better about time management and posting more timely updates, but first things first…we had a large tree branch crush part of our chicken run.
Before you worry, no chickens were hurt. Joseph was out there in a flash and carefully transported the chickens into their coop after the explosive noise brought us both outside from work. In an hour or two, we were able to patch things up well enough that the chickens to continue being outside and remain safe. However, it was clear this would no longer due long term.
Building the Ultimate Coop/Run
With the patch-work done, we’ve gone ahead and ordered lumber from Home Depot to be delivered. Joseph plans to make a large run 16 ft long by 8 feet wide. At the end of this run, we’re going to use pallets to build an elevated coop. This new coop will not only make it easier to clean out, but it will also provide a more spacious sleeping space. Meanwhile, they’ll be safe from all predators in their large run.
Work has already begun on this run, so make sure to tune in next month when we’ll share updates on the progress. And, hopefully it’s all done and the chickens can move in then. Regardless of that timeline, we’ll see you around the homestead!