I am so thankful that hurricane Irene did not hit us.  We are very blessed.  My husband said the last time Jacksonville, Florida area was hit with a hurricane was 1954.   But, we have had lots of rain and some winds from nearby hurricanes.

So thinking the hurricane was coming, I went outside and started figuring out how I could secure my chickens better.  None of my yards really close up except some cages I have that are 4×8.  I had decided to bring the babies back inside and put them in the tub that we never use inside the house.   Of course, it was a really bad storm, we would leave town because we live in a single wide mobile home.  We would take our two dogs but there is no way I can transport 120 chickens.

I have three sisters and one brother who live in the Atlantic Beach/Morehead City area in NC so we are closely watching the news.  Jeannie, in the Mill Creek area near Newport, NC said she lost electricity at 1:30 am this morning (Saturday, Aug 27).  My sister, Bonnie is really get hit harder and she lives inland in New Bern, NC.  She has lost three trees in her yard.  Jacksonville, NC had winds of 115 mph which is fairly close to New Bern.  I can’t reach her on her cell phone so far today.

So, this has made me realize I do need to finish up my projects in my chicken yards to protect them from being blown away.  Or drowned.   I had already told my husband we needed to finish up closing-in the chicken houses in the Silkie chicken yard before the cold weather gets here.  I have lost a chicken or so over the years during the cold weather.  Not from the weather but from predators.

I moved my dog yard closer to my chickens, too.  Their barking would discourage predators hopefully.  One of my dogs is 12 years old and I think her hearing is going downhill.  Not sure she would be a lot of help but I have a hound dog (Olivia) that would probably make a lot of noise and wake up Cassie, the older dog.

I hope my chickens are smart enough to get up on their perches if their yards get flooded.  I have milk crates upside down in the Silkie houses, too.  They perch on top of them at night.  Gosh, I can’t imagine sleeping sitting up and especially perched on a pole. The roosters perch on the pole but the hens like the crates or just sit/stand in the corners or along the back of the house.

We originally had about 300 plus  pine trees on our property (2 acres).  Calvin said it was a part of a pine tree farm.  So in 1999, three years after I moved here, I talked him into letting me find someone to cut the trees down.  So I did and we sold the lumber and we actually got a check for $1000.

Our yard looks entirely different now.  We have Mimosas, Magnolia, Dog Wood, Crepe Myrtles, Red Tip Maples, Oak and what we call Pop Corn trees.   We only kept about 18 pine trees and we lost three of them from lightning.   Tall pine trees in Florida.  Duh?  I know of at least two that my neighbors have lost, too.

We wanted pretty trees and shady trees.  It was one of my first priorities to plant some trees because they take so long to grow.  You can plant bushes and flowers and even get a nice lawn, but those trees take a lot of years.

I must admit, I have a couple trees that have really grown fast and of course, they are in my chicken yards or along the yards.  That chicken manure is so great to make things grow.  You definitely have to dilute it down when putting on plants or bushes.

I am going to get back to the CNN channel and find out about the hurricane in NC.  I just heard one person was killed in NC from the storm.  No details.   I am going to say a prayer for those in the path of the hurricane.

In the meantime, I need to get breakfast ready for my hubby.  A neighbor is over helping him with our riding lawn mower problem.  Gotta love your neighbors.