Things are in a state of disarray at the Accidental Farmer's place. The electrical problems in the barn knocked out lights in all the stalls, including the one in the coop. As things headed into fall, without fourteen hours of light, what egg production there was has dropped off. Eggs occasionally turn up, but still in odd places.

There's a lot of work to be done to get things back in order - but it's been weeks since I had a free weekend to do it. I've had my mother in the hospital again, weddings to go to, and the usual bout of busy-ness that comes with the start of the school year.

Perhaps I'll post a complete list of what needs to be done. On the other hand, maybe I'll just write about things as I do them. I don't want to overwhelm myself. I will say that one of the things I'm thinking about is building a separate, smaller chicken coop with a run in another part of the yard. Some of the birds have started nesting in the upper rafters of the stall, and have knocked stuff around that I had stored up there. It's anarchy. I almost feel like starting over with a new batch of chicks and shipping the delinquents off somewhere. Well, we'll see what happens.

Meantime, my daughter found a good home for her two young wethers. She got wind of a woman who has a petting zoo of sorts, and was looking for a couple of young goats to add to the mix. My daughter was really happy about this turn of events. She'd gotten rather attached to the herd, and didn't want to sell to anyone who was going to raise them up and then butcher them for meat. This way, they're going to have a good life, pampered and spoiled, giving little kids a thrill by getting to pet them and get their hands all goat-slobbery when they go to feed them.

And - horrors! - my wife had to buy eggs at the store for the first time in more than a year. We're all a little freaked out by it. I haven't had any yet, other than the ones she put into her soup (yes, eggs make a great addition to vegetable/beef style broth soups).

While I'm on the subject - the culled roosters from August have found their purpose. My wife throws them in a pot and boils them for a good, long time. They make a great chicken stock, and when some of her thick "dumpling noodles" are thrown in, it's just too good. Thanks, boys.