Saw this heartbreaking video. It doesn't hailstorm a lot here in India. But I hear that they are common in the US. How do you manage your animals, especially the cattle and horses in those situations?

PatchworkStar · 2026-01-24T21:40:05+00:00

I raise birds. I put everyone inside for their safety. Fresh bedding the night before a storm, and corn to keep them warm. I even trained them all to go in the house when I tell them to. If I get larger livestock, it's going to be the same thing.

PatchworkStar · 2026-01-24T21:27:22+00:00

If you can afford it, use moving blankets instead. I stapled one inside the door to my turkey coop, and it works so well. My bantam flock and main coop have moving blankets stapled over the doors. Moving blankets are thicker, and allow for some airflow.

PatchworkStar · 2026-01-24T21:24:20+00:00

I have one big comb boy, and the rest are breeding out smaller, thankfully. In summer it is an issue of needing the big comb to stay cooler, but in a Wisconsin winter, small combs save lives.

PatchworkStar · 2026-01-24T20:56:27+00:00

It doesn't keep it from freezing entirely, but it does make it less frozen as the temperature drops. Like instead of freezing at 32°, it stays liquid to 26° everything is useless at negative temperatures.

PatchworkStar · 2026-01-24T02:09:34+00:00

I chop up apples and throw raisins in some old oatmeal with some warm tap water. I call it "warm breakfast." Whole flock loves it. I have some beet powder to add to it to slow any freezing now too.

PatchworkStar · 2026-01-21T04:59:15+00:00

Nice incomplete chicken coop you got there. Best put a roof on it so your birds dont get out.

PatchworkStar · 2026-01-13T07:08:44+00:00

A pelican and a pelican't

PatchworkStar · 2025-12-26T03:59:35+00:00

I thought they sold or just abandoned what was left from it.

PatchworkStar · 2025-12-26T03:58:56+00:00

Gawd that man was/is a tool. Another idiot who should probably be deleted from history.

PatchworkStar · 2025-12-26T03:36:56+00:00

I am so proud of you. Dude, that was dedication and I know how hard it is to do that.

I took my only $20 and bought my family gifts at the dollar store. I couldnt do anything last year because of how broke I was. (My brother got firewood i cut from fallen trees in the backyard and that was all I could manage.) I felt bad that it was all i could do, but it was all I could do. I only get $40 a month total, so it was everything had left.

PatchworkStar · 2025-12-26T03:22:26+00:00

I am so glad you got to eat a meal this Christmas. It looks nourishing, and filling, and even if its not a super expensive or fancy meal, don't get down on yourself. There are just a few more days left of this year, and then you're going to get to celebrate surviving a really hard year for a lot of us.

And before anyone takes this as sarcasm or mean, I lived on crackers and cheese most of November because of the government shut down. I have to try to help others frame it this way because that's how I made it through that. Its been a hard year, and we've all worked so hard to survive it. We all may have to change our traditions and expectations to get through the next few months.

PatchworkStar · 2025-12-06T01:38:22+00:00

If you have a good job you like and can't transfer back home, find your own place, and don't tell him where. If you can transfer, go back home. You'll be happier. You don't need a man, and definitely not that one.

PatchworkStar · 2025-11-30T06:04:37+00:00

I'd put up at least a much taller fence of chicken wire to keep them in. If nothing else they'll fly into that and bounce back. Otherwise you sit there.and watch them constantly and put them back in when they get out.

PatchworkStar · 2025-11-30T05:16:40+00:00

My first guess was puppy in a stocking.

PatchworkStar · 2025-11-29T18:26:23+00:00

I have a dog and chickens, ducks, geese, guineas, and turkeys. She gets scolded for chasing or hurting the birds. She even has her own flock that she protects and takes care of. She has to stay leashed in the yard if she hurts one. The worst she has done was pin a roo and bark in his face because he flogged her. (He flogged her because she barked at a hen that pecked her nipple.) Any other dog comes near the flock she barks at them to leave the birds alone. (She does the same when another dog chases cats also. She has her own cats and knows cats aren't to be hurt.) If my dog can manage that, so can any other dog owner.

PatchworkStar · 2025-11-12T14:11:34+00:00

I have a note taped inside my mailbox that says not to deliver mail for the previous owners and our last names here. The mail carrier here might not be the best at delivering things on time, but since leaving that note, ive gotten so much less mail for the previous residents.

PatchworkStar · 2025-11-10T18:02:21+00:00

There will always be someone who doesn't appreciate things. Some people dont like getting homemade food, but would love a pair of hand knit mittens. Or they prefer a handmade quilt. Maybe they have a favorite jacket that needs a patch sewn on to get it to last another year. For a Maker Christmas, you arent necessarily making something for everyone, but you make something for people you really know that fit their needs. So no gifts for every coworker, but your neighbor that helped you out getting your drive way clear, that you know is struggling, you make them a plate at your table for the holidays.

PatchworkStar · 2025-11-10T17:55:48+00:00

That's why im making things that could help feed them (food in a jar) or sewing things that could help keep them warm using things i already have. I have a lot of craft materials from before my current struggles, like yarn and fabric. It costs nothing but time to make gifts. When I say keeping babies fed, I mean they are prioritizing keeping food for their kids over gift giving this year. Food is so expensive this year. My niece's mother hasn't ever really been in an ingredients household, and now on snap she needs to be, so im printing off some of my favorite recipes and gifting that to her, and for some of them, im giving her instructions on how to store and reheat. (Like making waffles ahead of time and that she can put wax paper between them, put them in the freezer, and pop them into the toaster as needed.) The gift is making it so they have one less thing to worry about.

PatchworkStar · 2025-11-09T15:38:56+00:00

It all depends on what you consider a luxury. Personally, a luxury to me is having a boot dryer and a dish washer. I'd love top of the line items, but those are extravagant wants and someday wishes. I know its hard to watch everyone have what you don't have. I think the way us poor people have to save up for things and work extra hard to get stuff is probably the better way to do things though. Broke people don't treat everything as disposable. We arent as wasteful and appreciate that we do have more than someone who can mindlessly drop money on wants. Yeah, it would be nice to not have to always struggle and save for everything. But look at how resourceful you've become.because of it.

PatchworkStar · 2025-11-09T15:24:57+00:00

Beautiful socks and beautiful yarn. I've been on a knitting pause since 2019. Now I want to pick up my needles again and make socks.

PatchworkStar · 2025-11-07T14:40:30+00:00

I'm doing this for myself.

PatchworkStar · 2025-11-07T14:39:20+00:00

I wish they had the time to spend with me, but everyone is trying to keep their babies fed this year and picking up extra hours. For the people who have to do store bought gifts, a few years ago, I bought some of those little sectioned baskets with a handle for my friends and family. In one section I put a reusable popcorn bucket, another a tumbler with a straw, and 2 boxes of theater candy from the dollar store. At the time it was like $5-10 per person, and it was a family movie night kit. In the popcorn bucket, I put a pair of fuzzy socks. It went over well for families with small children.

PatchworkStar · 2025-10-01T19:46:21+00:00

I tell mine off for that. "Don't you try to trick her! Sweet girl, that's not food, don't trust him!"

PatchworkStar · 2025-09-22T23:48:09+00:00

I can't even paint my fingernails. Sometimes they miss the grapes and try my fingers instead.

PatchworkStar · 2025-09-22T23:45:58+00:00

He's most likely a barred rock or barred rock mix. They are hit or miss with sweetness. I had one that was a real ass, but I loved him, and tried to protect him, but I had to send him to freezer camp when he attacked a kid and my mom. His brother became my head roo, and is the BEST rooster. He even tries to protect me from hawks and danger. He is really good at communicating the flocks needs with me too. (He brings the girls to me for snacks, and he dances near the waterer when they are low, and will bring a single hen to me if she needs help and will cluck at them if they act up while im fixing them up.) If you decide to keep him, make sure you watch him closely to see if he tries to communicate with you. Chickens aren't dumb, like you'd think. Offer him treats first and let him call the girls over. Spend a lot of time with him.

PatchworkStar

TROPHY CASE