Pioneer Woman at Heart

One Flourishing, Frugal and Fun Family!

One family learning to live off the land, cut back on expenses, and to live a simpler and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Adopted Motto

"Eat it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
~A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood~

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

New Sign ~ Chickens, Herbs and Rodents



Hubby bought a new sign for the front porch.  I thought you could use a short post to read today, since a wrote such a long one yesterday.  Ha ha!  


After weeding the herb garden (or rather part of it), I tossed some lemon balm  I thinned out, into the chicken's nesting boxes.  I read that some herbs are great pest controls in the coop (Backyard Poultry Magazine, 2011, June/July issue).  

By the way, the author of that article, Susan Burek (Herbalist), also has an article you can read online. It's for making a natural  citrus disinfectant.  And it's for the chicken coop of course.  I found her article very interesting, because we do have a natural branch ladder in the coop, and I never thought once about the cracks and the possibility for mites to live and breed.  We don't have an infestation, but this is a nice preventative.  And it's natural.  

I have also found that my chickens don't eat my herbs.  They would rather have grass and bugs.  So for now, it will just make their nesting box smell good, and keep the rodents out.

If you don't like to see dead animals, don't click on the "read more" today.  


Got your interest peeked?

Yesterday morning we kept hearing a cat crying.  My youngest opened the front door and said, in her most pleasant voice, "Oh, Rory (short for Aurora) brought us a present."

We all jumped up to go look.


Aurora and Sapphire are the best barn cats against rodents.  Only twice has she brought us a rabbit.  Timmy is a wonderful mouser too.

What's next on the to-do list?  Well, weeding is daily now anymore, but after I took that porch sign, I have to add "sweep down spider webs" to my list.  It's just not today's priority.

3 comments:

Mama Pea said...

Every house with a male in it should have a sign like yours on the porch. And that's all I'm sayin'. ;o]

Kelly said...

My husband will go outside to pee. It's the silliest thing, lol!!!!
I hate mice but I dislike cats almost as much :/ I've been successfully keeping my little dogs from chasing our free range bunnies. They chase wild buns and squirrels but not my babies :)))

My Garden Diaries said...

I need that sign! It is just fantastic! Wishing you a lovely week ahead! Nicole