When looking at THIS site about pokeweed...I clicked on THEGIANTLEAPARDMOTH...just being curious. I have seen one of these here at my house. They are very beautiful. I guess because we have so much pokeweed, we have these beautiful moths.
I don't think I will ever eat pokeweed. The site says even after boiling three times, and each time discarding the water for fresh water doctors seemed to think it still had poison in it!
On eating Pokeweed...nope, I dont eat it. I have always been told that you have to eat it when the leaves are still young and tender or it is poisonous. I don't know that for a fact, but I reckon I could look it up, because you can find anything in the internet.
Guess what I found under the truck in the garage day before yesterday?
One of THESE
It was just a little baby. There is a picture of it as a baby on the site too. These little things have quite a fierceness about them. If I tried to pick it up it would try to bite me. Once I was holding it though, it didnt mind being held at all. I thought about keeping it. I have never had a pet snake before. It would be great to feed mice to. I always kill mice. The chickens love mice too. Remember the video? LOL. Now I am hoping the new kitten will be a mouser too. The more things that eat mice the better.
I kept it for two days. I let it go in the bushes yesterday. Something will probably eat it, but I let it go. I could have set it up really nice in the big aquarium I had the iguana in when she was alive. Then I thought about having to catch crickets and stuff right now for it. I already have enough to take care of I told myself. So I let it go.
No, I didnt take a picture of it, cause I have been slacking on taking pictures. Wish I would have though before I let it go. I never really liked snakes. But for some reason I liked this one.
What did I get done yesterday? I actually have gotten quite a bit done. I got that gate and fence wire stapled back on securely. I got the stairs and walkway cleaned off. Blocked the three cochins from getting back over there too poop up the steps and walkway. Cleaned out the cochins pen. Cut down that awful poke weed. A note to remember. If you see pokeweed, pull it up right away...don't wait for it to get big. The stalks get TOUGH! I had to hack at it with a big ole knife! I got it all cut down though. There were some smaller ones growing next to the two big ones and I pulled those up too. I got the patio area weed whacked.
This morning I got up and stayed up. It was tough, but I did it. I am gonna collapse tonight for sure. I was up with Ian at 5 am. I got the porch very clean. It took all morning, but it actually looks really nice. Between Shelby hauling hay through there in a bin, Phoenix kicking shavings everywhere, and the kitten kicking her litter everywhere...it was a MESS. Not to mention I am one of those people...yes I am one of those people that if there is a flat surface to put something down, you know, just til later, when I can put it up, then it stays there, along with an accumulation of more and more. Til its time to sort it all out and put it all away. That is the way the porch table gets.
The farrier came this morning to trim Derbys feet up. He said Derby is looking really good. His weight is good, his feet are doing great considering he foundered not long after we got him before we could get the weight off of him. He tells me, "Now thats the way he is supposed to look, he's supposed to look like a little horse, not a hog!" LOLLLL
Afterwards we always get to talking for a bit. He is easy to jaw with.
Joe sold his donkey, so he didnt have an appointment with him like we had planned. Can't trim a donkey that isnt there. ;)
After he left I took down ANOTHER protective fence around a flowering bush that is situated behind the pool. I was protecting it from the goats, but it doesnt matter now. The pool flooding the yard, and the leaking since then of the chlorinated water killed it off. I think. There may be a little bit of it not dead, so I left some of it that didnt seem brittle and dead.
Then I got my wire cutters and started cutting off all the wire attached to the posts holding the chicken wire on. Snip snip snip snip...over and over. Pulled all the posts out of the ground. The pigs love whatever that crazy weed is in there so I cut down some of it and fed it to them. They seemed happy about it. I was trying to pull the chicken wire up to roll it back up, but the grass has grown into the bottom of it and some is really stuck in there. I was trying to think of a way to get it out without hurting my hands on the wire while pulling. I thought I might attach it to the back of the mower, where you can attach stuff to pull behind it...and let the mower pull it all out of the grass.
It is sunny today. I am glad of that, but it was getting a bit too hot in the sun out there, so I am inside now cooling off. Time for a shower and some indoor chores for the rest of the day.
My list of things I want to get done is still pretty long, but I am checking them off one by one. Tomorrow I will mow down those weeds in the garden, but first I want to take a picture. Why would I want to take a picture of weeds? Because in the morning...there are a BUNCH of morning glories wrapped around all those tall weeds, and it is really really pretty. :)
I am off to take a shower..clean up inside for a bit, then I have to go out this evening to feed and water everyone. Sometimes I do it in the morning, sometimes in the evening.
Thats the babble report for today...hope everyone is enjoying their day today. XOXO
I should know better than to try to plan to get certain things done. A whole detailed list made out and I have only gotten a fraction of it done. Why? Because we have had the remnants of Fay here for days and days. I have almost forgotten what the sun looks like it has been so long since I have seen it. The weather experts keep saying that we need the rain. I say okay, but not all at once. August is usually a dry month. I had to lay down a thick path of hay through the chicken pen just to walk through there to get the eggs yesterday. What a mushy mess of mud.
I did however manage to do some things indoors. I got a lot of cleaning done that needed to be done. Shelby is now trained on how to clean her bathroom, toilet scrubbing and all. She is doing this for an increase in allowance. That and I really need the help keeping up with things around here. If she can keep her upstairs clean that takes a load off of me. She is so funny. She asked me if she was always going to have to clean a bathroom, even when she was moved out one day on her own. LOL! I said well, yeah, who else is going to do it? She said, "How about I pay you to come do it?" LOLLLL! I told her no but thanks. She will get used to it. She is old enough to handle these new chores, and she is getting paid for it on top of that, so its not that bad. I told her it IS her mess. No one else uses her bathroom and bedrooms. She still thinks its gross...lol. Just a part of growing up. Sometimes you got to do stuff you don't like to do.
The goats, lordy those goats. Remember the contraption I had rigged up to keep them out. You wouldn't believe what they did! First, they stood on top of that little cage and bent the piece of fence down that it was attached to and got in anyway. SO...I attached the netting TO the fencing after bending it back into place. There was NO WAY for them to get in now.
WRONG!
They jumped up on the little cage and then...get this...they jumped up ON TOP of the netting I have stretched across the entire top of the main chicken pen! So I have these goofballs running around on top of this netting, and it is holding them at first. Then Troy gets too close to the part that is attached tothe back of the garage (stapled) and falls through! Well, he seems pretty happy about this development and goes RIGHT over to the chicken food and starts eating. I wanted to kill them both. I was furious! How come I can't outsmart a couple of GOATS???
Well now they are penned thanks to thier shennanigans. I have two fenced sections for Derby. One has a gate to close off half of it. That is where they are now. They have all that they need over there without getting into trouble. All the comforts without giving me a headache.
You know how you drive by a pasture on a country road...and you see all these animals grazing happily on grass?
That doesnt happen here. Here, its a rare occurance. Seems like everyone wants to eat everything but the grass! Only when I let the horse out to eat for a couple of hours will everyone go out and graze with him. Then it looks like a serene calm country picture. OH well, nothing is ever normal here, I have accepted that. ;)
Now if Eddie will just stop sticking his head through their new quarters fence...and getting it stuck, we will be alright. Troy is smarter. He hasnt done it ONCE. Eddie does it at least once a day. At first he would do it every hour or so. Let me tell you, its not easy to get a goats head unstuck from a fence hole. You have to think about the horns. Not to mention for some reason the second you PUSH to get their head through, they PUSH back! Crazy.
So I will tell you what I have gotten done outside. Which isnt much. I have plans to do a little more today. We will see if I can get it done. I did make a list, so lets see what happens.
I...
Unwrapped the protective fencing and posts from around the poor pitiful Japanese Maple tree out in the goats area. The horse had made mincemeat out of it recently and the goats were in the process of finishing it off. After cutting all of the fencing loose and pulling up the posts (now bent or uprooted) I went ahead and cut the little almost dead looking tree down. I wouldn't give the goats the satisfaction of finishing it off for me. After I cutitdown they both stood at the stump and pondered for quite some time. I had taken their toy away and they didn't quite know how to feel about it.
AND THATS ALL! Pitiful huh? Thats all I got done of the little this and that stuff that needs doing around here! The house is clean on the inside though I must say.
So whats on the list for today...regular chores inside first. You know, laundry, dishes, picking up, making beds. I bet I dont get all this done...but here is my extra chores list on top of feeding, watering, cleaning the house...
Clean out the cat pen
Clean the porch
Cut down HUGE poke weed by air conditioners
restaple (AGAIN) the wire to the fence I made to keep Derby away from the stairs (he eats them).
Pick up patio area
Weedwhack patio edge
water all my plants
Now placing bets on how many things I actually get done...this after I get done inside, feed and water. Don't forget I still have to cook supper too. ;)
I wouldn't trade it for anything though. I get to STAY HOME. I don't have to go OUT and WORK...and thats priceless these days.
Everyone have a good Wednesday, I miss you all. I am not deleting my alerts though. I still have every one, and I will come to visit, I promise. :) XOXOXOXOX
If you visit Lisa over on Life on a Bison Farm you may have noticed she hasnt posted in a while. There is a reason for that. She is super busy tending her animals and things that need doing.
This is what I need to be doing. I need to be taking a little break from sitting at the computer and get some things around here in order.
There are some things indoors and outdoors both...that I have put off and not gotten done like I wanted to.
I have GOT to get these things done before winter and cooler weather.
So, I am going to be scarce around here for a little while. I don't want to say how long, but at least for a week or so.
I am just writing this entry so you will know where I went, and that I am fine, and will be back. If anything exciting happens I will be sure to post it when I get back.
I think I will take pictures of what I need to do, and what I did do so when I get back and can sit down and relax you can see that I really was working hard. ;)
Everyone take care...and I will see you when I get back. XOXOXOXOXOX Kelly
Having goats...is a challenge at times. You don't have to necessarily be smarter than what you are dealing with...but rather, more STUBBORN.
You may remember the video a little bit back where I mentioned the little access gate I made attached to the main chicken pen gate that I made to keep out the goats and emus.
The reason I don't want them in there is because I feed the chickens their food in the pen. The goats and emus get their food seperate. The emus are not really a problem. The goats however must be kin to the pigs, because even though they have a pasture full of bermuda grass out back to munch on, they prefer to seek out the chicken feed.
So...here we have the pretty little access gate after the goats decided they had to be in the chicken pen.
Nice eh?
I try to use things that I already have laying around here. I keep pieces of fence and things of that nature. I had this piece of fence left over from where I had made the pigs pen when we first got them. Perfect. Tall enough and everything. I cut a small entryway at the bottom. It didnt take long, and somehow Troy had figured out how to get through it. How he managed it, I don't know. I didnt see him do it, but he did. The fencing was to bendable so he was able to push through and bend it inward.
I stood there, thinking. Necessity is the mother of invention they say.
I have this little carrying cage I got with two other nicer cages a while back from a friend of mines sister. It was just a small old rusty cage that I never used for anything, but I kept it anyway.
Thinking about it...and came up with this. It already had a door in the front of it, so I cut out a door on the backside of it. I then attached the cage to the fencing the goat had pushed through, matching up that little cut doorway with the doorway on the little cage.
It isnt pretty, but boy is it functional! I have a solid doorway for the chickens that the goats won't get through. The chickens caught on right away to their new doorway. They just have to take turns going in and out, one at a time through the doorway. Here is what it looks like. Not fashionable, but very functional.
With everything else, feed prices are going up as well. I have to really control the feed distribution around here to try and keep the feed bill under control.
I love my goaties, but they have got to eat more grass and less feed.
I am also thinking about getting my two boys fixed. I don't think the traditional way of doing it is going to work for me. I was talking to Joe, remember he is the goat man that I bought the emus from...and he told me what I already knew about how to fix male goats.
Basicly you have a clamping tool, and you clamp a metal ring around the top of the testicles where it meets the body and it loses blood circulation and eventually they fall off.
YES, it is VERY painful. He said the first day they are rolling around on the ground putting up a real fuss. After that he says they get over it.
I can't do that.
Goats stink for a reason. If I got them fixed, they wouldnt stink. The boys pee on their beards...Joe says its to get themselves ready for rut. Thats the stink, the pee on the beards.
These boys have no girls, but they still are wanting to go into rut. They stink, and they are getting on the emus nerves. They don't hurt the emus but they stick their faces in the emus tail feathers and snort and snuff and now Troy is putting his feet up on them. Eddie is not so bad. I haven't seem him do any of that, but he still smells. The smell doesnt bother me as much as their behavior towards the emus. I realize eventually the emus will be so big the little pygmy goats won't be able to bother them, but right now its annoying.
I do think the boys would be better pets if they are fixed.
We don't have the money right now, so either way it will have to wait. I am going to have them neutered by a vet though. I know it will cost, but I think its the better way. I do love my goat boys and I don't want to cause them any undue pain.
Okay, so that WAS in fact, the Lieutenant. The reason I thought it was the Sargeant is because I SWEAR I remember the last time Mama and me went in there we got a picture with the Sargeant, but I remember the man pictured. I guess I am just losing my mind...which shouldnt take long at all...lol.
Remember the little white Serama mama that had the one baby...well, the baby died on its third afternoon on this Earth. I couldn't tell you why. It was fine that morning. It was just pitiful because Mama was still trying to get it to 'wake up' and eat something. She was very mad at me when I took her little baby. It took her a couple of days but she has snapped out of her broody mother hen frame of mind. So she is back in the pen with the two Sultan boys for now. They don't mate her or bother her, but they are too big for her to beat up, so it all works out for the best.
A video of the keets and parents just finished loading, so here it is.
Aren't they just the cutest thing? The emus have grown used to having them around and don't try to eat them anymore. That is definitely a GOOD thing!
Last count yesterday was sixteen keets. I found one dead, tangled in the chicken wire that is down on the ground around the WEED garden, per a lot of goat help. I have got to get that wire rolled up. They just aren't smart at all when it comes to these types of things. They will walk right under a bit of chicken wire down on the ground and be trapped and die right there. This is what happened..never mind it could have just gone back out the way it came in. They panic and try to go up and out through the holes. I felt bad about it, but I can't watch them all day. I guess this is why they hatch so many because some just dont survive. Two have just disappeared. I don't know where they are. The mother and father are starting to take them into the field of cut wheat next door. Its not very high, but for a little keet, they can get lost in there. They do cry if they get seperated, but that is no guarantee it will be found by one of the parents and brought back to the others. They really need to stay in the fence, I sure wish they would.
This video was shot back when I shot the other one of my layers coming out of the pen to free range for the day. It was muddy then, remember. I forgot about this video until yesterday and wanted to share it today.
Blue is the sweetest Japanese Silver Phoenix rooster I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. He is a gentleman. He doesnt go around jumping on the backs of unwilling hens. He will dance for them, and if they give him permission (they squat down) then he will procede. He is also very sweet to humans. He always comes running when he sees me and jumps up on the nearest thing to greet me eye to eye and be talked to and petted. He knows his name too. You will see in the last part of this video that I actually do call him over to see me and he does just that, talking to me in that sweet rooster voice. :)
I am feeling better today, finally. I am late getting out to tend animals. I won't go into any detail but Shelby and I had to have a talk about some things last night. It is all straightened out now, but I lost some sleep so I slept in just a little while this morning to make up for it. Now I got to pay the price and go out while its hot, but its still got to be done. I am going to take some pictures before I come in. Hopefully I can get some pictures of the keets so you can see again how fast they are growing. :)
Be back in a little while. I am going to see what I can do about catching up on journals some today too. If I dont see you today, I will see you tomorrow. I would really like to read up on everyone and see what y'all have been doing.
The next morning...your gonna love this...I woke up to Sherry and Kelly's alarm clock (her 'husband' is named Kelly) (They have been together forever, but never got married). But it wasnt the old annoying buzzer, or a loud radio station playing...it was a womans electronic sounding voice...saying...
"THE TIME IS NOW 6:45! IT IS TIME TO GET UP!"
This said over and over about 6 or so times. Then it was quiet. Fifteen minutes later...
"THE TIME IS NOW 7 O'CLOCK! IT IS TIME TO GET UP!"
Too funny...I dont think I have ever heard of an alarm clock like that.
So Sherry was up, the baby was up, Kelly got up and got ready and out the door to work, Kelsey out the door and on the bus at 7:30. The baby had her bottle and back down for a little nap at 8:30 am. Ahhhh...a peaceful morning ahead of us. It was raining, that sleepy kind of rain, with a breeze outside. We had coffee and some cereal...more talking of course. We were winding down though. I told her I knew we would both think of something we wanted to tell the other about after I was on the way home, but thats okay, we can save it for next time.
We sat around on the computer for a little bit. I loaded the pictures I had taken onto her computer and she had been meaning to sign up for Freecycle so we did that. We had our delicious leftovers of the pork chops and mashed potatoes with gravy. Rebecca up from her nap and us still in our jammies lazing about Sherry took just a FINE picture of me at my BEST..lol. I was holding Rebecca. Yes, I will show it to you...I am what I am...and what you see is what you get. I started gathering things about 2:30 and was out the door a little after 3:30. It looked like rain was coming and I was in for a rainy ride home. I was right. From Pine Mountain at the look out (see pics below) across from the Calloway Gardens gift shop on it was rainy. It wasnt too bad though, nothing torrential, just a soft rain all the way home. There is this little building on the side of the road that I always pass, and always say I want to take a picture of...and of course I picked this time, when its raining to do it. Oh well..that pic is below also. I got home and it kept raining for the rest of the evening. The animals had to wait to see me til the next morning...and you better believe they were happy to see Mama. :)
Alright, here are some pictures...oh I forgot, the pictures you see of the police cars and the school buses was something I came up on. I couldnt tell what exactly happened, but there was an ambulance there. They were shuffling children onto another school bus as one was being towed away.
Blahhhh...lol, here are me and Rebecca
We were both getting a little hungry. It was almost lunchtime. Remember I had told Sherry I was taking her out to Dinglewood for a scrambled dog. Do you know she lives 3.7 miles from Dinglewood Pharmacy...and has never been to eat there. That place is like a famous landmark in Columbus. She said it seems like she remembers her mom talking about it before though. Its been there forever...our parents all went there as kids.
Sherry wanted to get a sitter for Rebecca while we went out and had our lunch. I told her not to worry about it that she wouldnt be any trouble. She called three of her 'friends' that she babysits their kids for from time to time...two didnt answer...one had a lame excuse. We were only going to be gone about an hour...I mean really. This baby is good as gold and she is just no trouble. It all worked out for the best though because we took her on to Dinglewoods with us. She took her a good ole nap the whole time we ate. She woke up just in time to have her picture made with the Sargeant.
I politely waited at the end of the lunch counter until he wasnt jostling dogs and dishes and chili. I asked him if he could just take a minute to have his picture with a sweet baby girl. He was all smiles and was more than happy to. We started something because as soon as we were done we had a grandmother and her two grandaughters lining up and asking for a picture too...lol. I am sure he is used to it. This place is a big deal.
Sherry said she had never been there, but she knew she would be back. We both just ate that scrambled dog like it was the best thing we had ever tasted in our lives. As far as hot dogs go, I have to say, its just mana from heaven. ;) If you back up you can see a picture of a scrambled dog. It is still served in that type of dish too. The friendliest folks you could ask for in there. I got me a real cherry coke too. Thats coke, with cherry syrup added, like they used to do it.
After we got done eating we went on back to the house. We wanted to stop at the River Walk and take some good pictures of Rebecca but it had gotten overcast and started to sprinkle. Since neither of us had gotten much sleep, with a full tummy to boot, we were both feeling like a nap. I told her I didnt want to waste our visit time napping though and she agreed. We cranked up the coffee pot and got some good ole coffee going in our system and we spent the rest of the afternoon talking away about anything and everything.
Her older daughter, Kelsey, she is 8 or maybe its 9, she was at school all day, so there was not one disturbance or interruption the whole day. We talked freely without her butting in constantly and talking over us all day, like she tends to do. Its so hard for two adults to talk when a child is constantly in the middle talking and jumping up and down and whirling around the room and asking a hundred questions. I know Sherry can work around it, but I am not used to this. Shelby was never allowed to butt in and talk while adults were talking like that, not for hours on end for sure.
When Kelsey got home from school it was like this briefly, but she scooted down the street to a friends house until suppertime so it wasnt too bad. Sherry fixed the best supper. I was just raving over her pork chops! You see, I dont fry a lot of meat anymore. I know it tastes good, but its bad for you. I dont use salt much either, cause its bad for you. I am already on two blood pressure medicines...so salt and grease are something I try to keep to a minimum. Well she loads her pork chops up with Lawrys seasoning salt and salt and pepper and then cooks it in a pan with....not oil, but butter! OH MAN...they were sooooooo gooooood. Why does everything that is so tasty like that have to be so bad for you? She also made mashed potatoes with brown gravy and corn and green beans mixed together, and also cooked up some hamburger patties...they were tasty too, but ohhh those pork chops. We ate the rest of them for lunch the next day too, and they were still just so good!
Okay, here are a few more pictures...and then I will make another entry about the next morning and my trip home.
I made an entry...and get this...I was CUT OFF from AOL! I am on DSL...not dial up. It happened three times! So this is coming to you via word pad...cut and paste style, just in case, so I don't lose everything I typed...again.
So, lets go back a week and start from there. I got up at 4:30 am to get ready to hit the road to Sherrys. I was so excited I couldn't go to sleep and only ended up sleeping like three and a half hours! I later found out Sherry was the same way, she couldnt get to sleep either because she was so excited that I was coming. Its always like that for me though, I just get worked up and my mind is racing about the next day and I can't shut down. I woke up at three thirty and tried sleeping another hour, with no success. When the alarm went off I was still awake. I got up and got myself ready, showered, makeup, hair done, the whole works. I don't do the make up and hair unless I am going somewhere. I got the pigs fed, in the dark. They were ready too. They are always ready to eat. I got the food out for the emus and goats. They weren't up yet, but I know they found their breakfast when it got daylight. I wanted to get on the road by 6, but as usual, I get a late start. I wasn't going to sweat it too much. This was a fun leisurely trip, not a stressful on time thing.
It was a nice ride down Hwy27. Not a lot of traffic, but then there never is. Its just a two lane highway out in the middle of nowhere most of the time except through Carrollton. There was a chance of rain, but it seemed to be holding off for me. I did go from partly cloudy skies up near home to cloudy by the time I got down to Lagrange. I decided to hit I185 and cut off a little time instead of going 27 the whole way. I got there about 9:50 am.
There was much hugging and we were both so happy to see each other. Sherry and I have been friends since we were thirteen years old. We have been through good, bad and downright ugly, and still we have come through still best friends through it all. We can go for months without talking and just pick right up where we left off like it was yesterday. I love that about us. We tell each other things that no one else knows, nor would we ever tell anyone else these things. I do love her very much.
I got in the door and you know the first thing I had to do was see that new baby. :) She was sitting in her pink bouncy seat looking so pretty. Sherry got her out and I held her a lotwhile I was there I have to tell you. She is such a good baby. Her name is Rebecca Lynn.
I had been buying a pack of diapers a week when we went to Walmart each week to get groceries. I ended up with three packs of 50 size 2s to take to her. She was so surprised. Turns out she was just finishing up size 1s and she said they were really too small so the size 2s were welcome by Rebecca and Sherry both. I remember that was such a burden on the grocery bill having to buy diapers every week when Shelby was little. I told her I knew she probably had more than enough clothes and I had already sent a package to her a couple of months back with some things in there that she still needed like bibs and onesies.
We sat around all morning and played with Rebecca, and I fed her and changed her diaper and we talked our heads off of course. ;) Here are a few pictures from that morning...in that one pic Rebecca has her size 2s on and seems to love the extra room.
More on my next entry...
My older sister Patti emailed me, asking if I was okay. It's because I usually would have updated my journal with my trip to see Sherry. I am okay, I just came down with a really bad sore throat that is easing into congestion and drainage now. Last night I woke up at 1 a.m. and every swallow hurt, but you know how it is, if you dont swallow long enough, your throat dries, and then it hurts even more to swallow. I finally got back to sleep about 4 a.m. and then the alarm went off at 4:45 a.m. to get Ian up for work. I did, barely, and layed right back down. I woke up again this morning about 8:30, but still felt bad so I went back to sleep and the next time I woke up it was just after 12 p.m.! I got on up. I had to. I had to go get groceries today. Animal and people groceries. As long as I kept moving I was okay...but now I am home...and I was doing good to put up the cold stuff.
So I feel like a slug, with the slime and all. I am going to lay down til Ian gets home from work. I fixed some home made chicken noodle soup last night, so thats what we are having tonight too. Thank goodness for leftovers.
I am behind on laundry, cleaning, dishes, animal tending, and journals. Tomorrow I will spend a lot of time catching up on all of these things. Right now, I feel like I need to lay down and take a nap, til say oh...I dont know, tomorrow morning?
I do have a lot of pictures and a lot to tell about visiting Sherry, but I am just not up for it today. Maybe tomorrow. I did have a nice time though and we were able to catch up without a lot of interference...neighbors, Kelsey, distractions were not there.
Night night y'all...tomorrow is another day, a fresh page, a clean slate. I will see what I can do with that after some good rest.
XOXOXOXOXOX
Good morning. :) I am going to be getting ready to go visit Sherry today.
I talked to her for just a little bit yesterday to firm up what time I would be there. It takes three hours to get to Phenix City from here so I reckon I will try and leave no later than 6 a.m.
I have to stock the animals with plenty of food and water today, and even then I will have to put out food before I leave for the pigs, emus and goats. That will keep them happy til I get back Tuesday evening. They will get supper instead of breakfast Tuesday, but as long as they are fed every day, they don't complain...too much. ;)
I got to get the house picked up and the laundry done, I hate to come back to a messy house and a pile of laundry, plus I need some of the clothes in the dirty clothes.
Then I got to shine my truck up and clean it out. I always like to have my truck looking good when I go on a trip, it just makes me feel good.
Above all I have to remember to take my camera and extra charged batteries. Sherry wants me to try and take some really good shots of Rebecca (her new baby) and then maybe get some developed, then get duplicates of those. Ones that she can send to relatives and friends.
Well I have sat here long enough...I will be back online Wednesday...until then, y'all don't have too much fun without me! ;) See ya when I get back. XOXO
Just wanted to let the good folks praying for Nic know, that he is up and running and playing at the hospital! Our prayers worked and he is feeling better. Still don't know for sure the details of what was happening to him. I am just glad he is feeling better. :)
Everyone please pray hard for Nick, Carrie's son. He is in the hospital and it sounds serious. Go HERE to her journal. Cory, her husband just made an entry to let everyone know what happened.
Pray for that little boy to be okay. Pray for the whole family, please.
I dont know what else to say. I wish I was closer so I could be there for support. Lets just all pray hard together, please.
Apologies...I forgot that her journal is set to private. Carrie is my friend that caught the chicken fever from me. She has new chicks growing up at her house.
If you would like to leave a message for her on here I will be sure she picks it up. Thanks everyone. Sorry for the confusion.
Ian woke up early before me yesterday morning. He took the dog out. Bonnie and Clyde's house is right there next to the back door. As he stood waiting for Tip to finish her business he noticed a grim sight.
He came back in with the dog as I was waking up. He said to me in a sad voice, "One of your little chickens is dead."
He doesnt remember all their names. I immediately snapped up and went to the back porch. Bonnie had died. I didn't have a clue as to why. She was fine the day before. I usually feed and water in the morning, but it was so hot that day I went back and put ice cubes in their water, along with Phoenix's water too. She was fine. Sometimes its just a mystery. Poor Clyde. He is alone now, and he is so so very tiny I don't have anyone I can put in there with him. He is so small you can hold him in the palm of your hand and he fits. He looks so sad today. I hold him and give him love, but I know its not the same.
They were like two peas in a pod. You couldnt seperate them. Their picture together can be seen on my sidebar. I was never able to get any fertile eggs from them as Clyde was not mating her. He was just not aggressive like that towards her. We will miss Bonnie so much.
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On the very same day...as I sat there holding Clyde I kept hearing a peeping. I just assumed it was the baby pigeon. It makes a lot of noise all day long and keeps the parents busy feeding it. Ian was working on the mower so I was going to go down and see what progress he had made...
He said later (he was joking) that after all the work he had gotten done at home that day he was going to have to go back to work just to rest...lol. He fixed some loose shingles on the roof, fixed the mower, changed his oil in his car, and wanted to clean the pool, but...it started raining later that day.
Back to my peeping. I hear it, but its coming from the Sultans pen. I had put the white Serama hen in there because she was being so darn mean to any chicken that was close to her size and just not getting along. Before that, she had been in a pen with Speckles. Speckles is in a community pen with two silkies, two sultans, and Twiggy, all girls. I tried to put the white Serama hen in there, but she was going to be top dog and beat everyone up, so that wasnt working out.
When a hen has been mated by a rooster several if not many times by one rooster, that sperm stays with her for up to about three weeks. So any eggs that are formed and fertile, would have been his.
She was sitting on an egg...gone broody. The sultan boys are too big to mate her, and believe it or not, she held her own in there, she wouldnt let them bother her at all. She would pull on their crests and they would freak out and leave her alone. Sultans are kind of the sissy bird of chickens...lol. So, she was sitting on an egg..I didnt think much about it. But it sure did hatch! That was the peeping I heard! She had her a baby!
Well I couldnt leave them in there. The bumbling Sultan twins would step on the baby and not even know it. So I fixed her up a brooder box up on the porch. Now you know she put up a stink when I reached in for her and her baby. I got them without any bloodshed, the blood being mine. She has sat on the baby a lot to keep it warm, but it needs to get out long enough to have some food and water. She seems content to let the baby stay under her. This morning I took the baby out from under her, with protest from her. I dipped its beak in the water and it took right to it. Poor thing was thirsty! After drinking the water I set the feed down in front of mom so she could show the baby to eat, and she did. Here is a short video of just that...before the baby slipped under mom again. She never had a name, so I guess we will call her Mom.
Along with a picture of Mom sitting on baby, and then a picture of baby after getting some water.
As I said before, there came quite a downpour yesterday. I mean it was coming down in buckets. The back yard up by the gate was flooding. The wind was blowing hard and it was thundering and lightning something fierce.
The baby pigeon is still too small to fly up onto the roost so it was getting soaked and the air had cooled considerably, not to mention the floor of the pen was getting flooded. I grabbed an extra cage out of the garage. ( A must for emergencies like this) I brought it up to the porch and layered it with fresh bermuda hay.
As I stood in the covered walkway from the garage to the back porch...watching it pour, lightning cracked down right where I was going. How scared do you think I was? I was counting on that old saying...lightning never strikes in the same place twice. I said a small prayer to please not get zapped. Just to give me 30 seconds. I ran out into the pouring rain and opened the pen, grabbed the baby first, then the two parents, hustling all three back to the safety of the porch, I was drenched, and pooed upon. Not really all that unusual for me...lol. I put all three in the cage and got them some fresh food and water. This morning everyone is fine, and a bit more dry too.
I am somewhat behind on reading journals, not too bad, but I will have to catch up tomorrow and Sunday morning. I got some things to catch up on around here today.
The weather is FANTASTIC today! Its a cool 81 out with humidity at only 57 percent. How is that for an August day in Georgia! I will take it. Supposed to wake up to temperatures in the upper fifties here tomorrow morning, I can't wait, its going to feel so good. Everyone have a great weekend...I will be mowing now that the mower is fixed! :)
Just snagged this short meme from over at JustPlainBills...
The 5 List
5 things you collect = hummingbird nick nacks, chicken and rooster stuff, shells, feathers, and sometimes...I collect dust..from sitting here at this computer too long. ;)
5 things about your hair = Real color is brown, fake color is blonde, long, thick, unruly at times.
5 things about your pets = Just Five?? They are feathery, furry, hairy, and sometimes dirty, and smelly...lol.
I wrote down all the best pictures, the numbers to the pictures...except I did it off the camera's program. So once I backed up the pictures to a folder, the numbers werent the same. DUHHHH...so when I loaded all those pictures in the last entry...some of them werent even the right ones...lol..that is why some are blurry...they weren't supposed to be on there...so..I am loading the ones I was supposed to now...here are a few...
Last night after I had gone to bed my older sister called me and left a message, She lives in Columbus, and actually works at AFLAC, the building across from Dinglewoods.
I don't know why I thought the Leutenient was dead, but he isnt. BIG OOPS! She said he is about 80, but is a big deal in Columbus and she knew if he had passed on she would have heard about it. I talked to Mama and she said he had retired. Patti says he has a place over near the airport at a kids fun type place. She says he still stops in to Dinglewoods sometimes.
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It took me two and a half hours to get this short video to load properly, along with some pictures of the keets I took yesterday evening. They were already settling in for the night so I didnt get any picture of them out roaming. They were roaming this morning with the adults but I was busy filling everyone with fresh water and food for the coming heated day.
I actually got some quality time in with all my babies yesterday as the sun went down. I had cooled down in the pool for awhile, then I got me a chair and sat right out in the middle of everyone. I had two of my old girls drinking drops of water off my shorts as they drip dried. The emus were hanging close. The goats were there as I scratched their backs. I gave Eddie a nice backbone massage...he got that half closed eye look. It must have felt really good. All my gals and guys were hanging around me, we were just all chilling as the sun set. So calm and serene...really nice way to end the day.
Pete was following me around so I took a picture of him. :) He still hasnt got much for butt feathers..but I still think he is a handsome young man.
Time for me to get a shower. I got to drop off some eggs to some neighbors down the road and get to the feed store.
Its really hot out, I hope everyone is staying cool.
